I'll Be Waiting
by just-the-narrator
Summary: What would have happened if Peeta had never been sent to the games? When Harry Potter is chosen for the games, he must fight the mysterious girl who saved him. Is he up for the task, or will the Triwizard cup be the last he ever see's of Hogwarts?
1. Prologue

**Authors note: this is the first fanfiction I've written and actually posted, so if it really needs touching up, just bear with me :D. I do not own Harry Potter or The Hunger Games (but what I do with them is meeee! Hahaha!). So basically this is a cross of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, and it parts may not make sense, but just go with it. It starts in the middle of the Goblet of Fire, where Harry is about to go for the Goblet. I'm really excited about this so if you like it review, if you don't…well…be nice!**

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><p>The energy pulsed through the cup, blue electricity hummed in the air around Harry's ears. Adrenalin pumped threw his veins; his chest was jumping erratically from the pounding of his heart. The metallic shine of the cup nearly blinded him, and he took a nervous step.<p>

Finding that walking wasn't nearly as difficult as he had built it up to be in his head, he walked quickly towards his goal. Reaching out his hand he noticed the slight quivering in his hand and steeled he himself, taking a deep breath, he grabbed the cup by the handles.

Instantaneously his intestines were scooped out and he was folded into an inch by inch cube before being shoved into a small tube. He slammed into the ground; his already crushed body lost all hope of air when his deflated lungs hit the tightly packed dirt. His eyes flashed open and he panted, trying to make up for the lack of air. Looking around he noticed a tall pine standing above him. The clean scent sliced through his foggy mind and he was able to push himself into a sitting position.

Standing up he saw behind him there was a small concrete cottage, its chimney slightly smoking. Walking quickly and quietly towards the potential safe haven he peered in the one grimy window. Seeing no one there he hurriedly walked through the small door. On the floor was a medium sized leather bag, it looked empty as it sagged on the cold hard ground.

Hearing a twig snap behind him, Harry quickly spun on his heels. He heard the sharp intake of his own breath as he saw the tip of the arrow directly in between his eyes. The girl's stormy grey eyes were narrowed in a menacing glare. Her dark hair was braided down her back, her sharp high cheeks bones giving her a frightening beauty.

Smiling nervously, he reached out his hand to this strange girl.

"Nice to meet you, my names Harry."

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><p><strong>So...really short (^)_(^) . Its mostly a prologue to explain somewhat how Harry got where he is.<strong>


	2. Hell

**Author's note:**** So, another chapter…I would say that it's been awhile, but really it hasn't. I'm not quite sure where this is going, so anything can happen; Speaking of which, if you have any suggestions, I'll take it. :D. Here we goo!**

The ugly, squash-faced, straw colored, mud covered, cat (if indeed that's what it was, Harry wasn't quite sure) hissed upon his arrival.

"Nice to meet you too." The girl, Katniss, hissed back. The noise surprised Harry so much that he jumped, not watching where he was going he had mistakenly jumped onto the cat, who squirmed out from under him and the scratched his unprotected ankle.

Feeling his leg, he could tell that it wasn't bleeding and breathed through the sharp sting.

"Friendly cat you got there."

"It's not mine, it's my sisters." Katniss seemed hard, able to protect her family; and from what she showed him of how she could handle a bow, that's exactly what she did. But at that moment, her eyes seemed to glaze over, as if reliving a happy memory.

Dropping her empty game bag on the small rickety table that took up most of their kitchen, Katniss sat down on an old stained stool. She took a deep breath and pulled stray hairs off her face.

"Why are you here?" she asked, the question was more than just that. It was an accusation, like by arriving he had committed some sort of crime, and who knows, maybe he had.

He couldn't think of anything to say, not one word.

"I hear your goat cheese is fantastic." He said quietly, remembering the goat that had been grazing in front of the house.

Katniss stared at him, the disbelief clouding her stormy gray eyes, which was quickly covered by rage. Jumping to her feet, she knocked the stool over and towered above him. It wasn't until then that he realized how short he really was.

"How is this funny to you? Did you not see the _children_ dying on the street corners? Where did you come from anyway?"

The unexpected outburst put Harry in a moment of temporary paralysis. Like a deer in the headlights he stared at her blankly, completely unable to respond.

"Hogwarts…" he barely choked out the word, and then he burst into tears.

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><p>When Harry woke up Katniss was gone, and sitting beside his bed was a small girl with two short french braids that ended at her shoulders. Her big blue eyes were wide open and watching him in his sleep. Once she realized that he was awake she leaned back, making sure that the first thing he saw was not a small,blonde creeper.<p>

"Hello..." Harry said, having just woken up he was sounding rather groggy.

"Hello! You must be Harry! My name is Primrose, but everyone calls me Prim. Where did you come from? you look different, like your clothes, they look strange-"

"Whoa,whoa, nice to meet you too Prim. I just woke up though and this is a somewhat traumatizing way to first wake up."

Prim blushed like a live porcelain doll, her nervous eyes were glancing all around, occasionally at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Sorry, Harry."

"Well, in all actuality, I don't know why I'm here. The last place I remember clearly was Hogwarts, and even that's fuzzy...but I remember the cup."

Prim looked at him Quizzically, but before she could go on another rampage of questions, he cut her off to continue his explanation.

"If you promise not to tell Katniss, I'll explain." The little girl nodded, her curiosity, naturally taking over. Taking a deep breath, (he found he was needing a lot of those lately) he dove into what he thought would be enough to explain.

"When I was eleven years old, I found out that I was a wizard," Prim shot him a confused look and he knew he would need more information than he thought.

"A wizard is someone who possesses magic." he was even more at a loss when he realized that the word magic didn't mean anything to this under-privileged young girl.

Deciding that it would be easier to show her, he reached into his pocket to get his wand. A sharp hiss of air escaped through his teeth when his hand came back empty. _Relax, Harry. _he told himself,_ it's probably just in your other pocket._ Reaching behind his back to get to his right-side pocket, and found it empty as well.

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><p>Katniss had just come back from the Hub, not making any trades, just touching base to make sure her alliances still held. Even though it was just one day, you never knew who would be the one to turn their back at the first sign of trouble.<p>

Opening the door to her humble, under-furnished home, she saw the dark haired boy, Harry, shouting at Prim. Her first instinct was to shove him against the wall and demand to know what he thought he was doing. The second was to calmly ask him _what the hell did he think he was doing? _Noticing tears starting to prick at the corners of Prim's eye's only fueled her decision.

She went with the first choice. Running into the room, she had a clear shot of his throat. thrusting her forearm into his windpipe, she threw him against the wall, holding him there until his pale face was bright red and tears were streaming down his face.

If she wasn't so freakin' pissed, it might have been funny. Leaving him to fall onto the ground she went to Prim. dropping onto a knee, she wiped away her tears.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Her little sister nodded, too shocked to answer with her words.

From Harry's view, (slumped on the floor gasping for air) he could see the resemblance. The high cheekbones, heart shaped faces, and a simple animal ferocity in the eyes. It was less prominent in Prim, but Katniss's blind rage made up for her gentle demeanor.

Prim looked over to Harry's corner, the concern clouding her sky blue eyes. Katniss rolled her eyes, getting up off her knee's she walked over to where he was and extended a hand. Wandering what he was supposed to do with it, (Bite it maybe?) he just stared wearily.

"Well I'm not going to stand here all day." Harry quickly grabbed her hand, and was once again surprised by her stunning strength. Getting to his feet, he was almost completely knocked to his feet again when Prim hugged him around his neck.

"What did you think you were doing?" Katniss's cold tone left no room for humor.

"I lost my wand." He said simply, as if that explained everything. Katniss stared at him blankly, and he could see where Prim had learned it from.

"I lost everything, imagine if you didn't have a bow." He said, knowing it was possibly the most important thing she owned.

Katniss nodded, like what he just said cancelled everything else out.

"Where am I?" He asked, he figured of they could bombard him with question's, he got at least one.

He swore under her breath Katniss had answered his question. Her answer wasn't very reassuring.

"Hell."

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><p><strong>Yaaay! Well another chapter! still not very long, but better. TT_TT Reviews!<strong>


	3. A Promise

**Author's note: So here we are again! It's good to see you all again! Just wanted to say thanks to those who added me to your story alerts, it really means a lot. My mums an author so you can imagine being able to say "You may have written more, but I'm in more countries!" she got a good laugh out of that. Anyways, good to see you all again! The story goes on…**

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><p>Katniss had always had her simple routine, drag herself out of the safety that her bed promised, put on her leather jacket and boots that reminded her of her father every time she went to hunt, and stalk the forests with Gale.<p>

Having found the odd raven haired boy in the woods made her life that much harder. He was another mouth to feed, and when she tried to find out what he was good at…well, it was a short list. They had eventually agreed that he would help her mother with their small healing shop.

It turned out that where he was from; making the odd concoctions that her mother often was stirring in the kitchen was actually part of his school's curriculum. So much different from the Seem where school was just a place to put you until they could put you in the mines.

In the past few days, Katniss had learned very little about the new comer, and she had no inclination to change their relationship. She had the same view of him as she did of Buttercup, entrails, no hissing. This relationship was only slightly above that, let him stay in the house, and she had someone to look after her mother, lately she didn't really trust her alone and Prim had school.

From what she did learn though, he was a wizard, whatever that meant, and had done many great things which he had chosen not to elaborate on. Well that suited her just fine, if he wasn't going to share, then she saw no reason to pry.

The reaping was only days away, and Katniss was staring to worry. Even though Prim had only just turned twelve, and there was no real chance of her getting picked, Katniss still worried for her innocent younger sister.

It didn't help any that the peace keepers had just come by yesterday to make a count for the reaping bowls. Unluckily, Harry had been there and he had raised eyebrows. Katniss quickly made up some lie about him probably not have been noticed, him blending in all. That he was just a patient who wanted to repay his mother for helping him with a bad burn.

Harry, who hadn't had the Hunger Games explained to him just nodded and went along with the easy lie. Prim, who felt guilty for forgetting to brush her goat sat in the corner biting her tongue, she knew her big sister was protecting Harry, she just felt bad about how it had to be done.

The man jotted down three tally marks for Harry's name, three times in the reaping bowl, the thought made him shudder. Even though it hadn't really been explained to him, any time the games were mentioned a shiver laced around his spine, and he instinctively knew that it was like Azkaban one hundred times over.

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><p>It had been nearly two weeks since Katniss had found Harry in the woods, and now he looked to her for direction on how to handle this new obstacle. It was the day of the reaping, and Harry now stood in the small roped off area for the potential tributes.<p>

He was standing in the male section with other boys roughly his age. In front of him on his left side was a boy whom others around him called Peeta. He seemed nice enough, with an easy smile and a way of putting others at ease with quick wit and charm.

Harry stayed quiet and waited for the hush as a woman wearing bright pink from her wig to her Barbie pink pumps crossed the stage and tapped the microphone. When Katniss had told, no _warned _him of the capitol accent, he didn't realize just how much she meant it.

"Happy Hunger Games! It looks like this year is going to be a big,big,big, event!" she went back to her seat as the mayor walked to the podium, he gave the lengthy speech that the Capitol had read every year about how the Capitol was the knight in shining armor and then everyone ganged up on them, and now they will punish you for eternity by killing your children.

If Harry didn't have to face the cruel reality that, that may be his fate he would have laughed. But he reminded himself that his name was in that bowl three times, small of a chance that it was, it was still a chance.

When the mayor finished, Harry noticed a very drunk man stagger onstage. His stringy blonde hair hung in front of his eyes, and though he looked awful, Harry got the distinct impression that if you mentioned this point; he would most likely tell you to piss off or shove it.

The man walked (if you could call it that) over to the woman in the pink wig and started whispering in her ear. Finally noticing that the mayor was finished, he staggered to the podium to give his speech. Looking out over the crowd his eyes bulged following which he emptied the contents of his stomach on the podium, and then proceeded to fall off the stage.

The woman not wanting the crowd to get too distracted walked to the podium, making sure not to get to near to the second appearance of the man's liquor, spoke loudly into the microphone,

"Let's pick our tributes, shall we?" she walked over to the big glass bowls that represented the boys and girls. "Ladies first!" she pronounced cheerily as she walked over to the bowl on the right.

"Katniss Everdeen!" Harry's stomach lurched and he watched as the boy, Peeta, suddenly seemed quiet, his eyes bulged and he was heaving. Katniss narrowed her eyes, she didn't seem upset, just calculating. It was rather unnerving actually, to see someone so unattached from their own future, it reminded him of Malfoy unusually, he mused to himself.

"Congratulations, Katniss! I'm sure you'll make district twelve proud!" Katniss raised her eyebrow to the woman as if to say, _what the hell is going on in that demented, wig covered head of yours?_ Harry tried not to snicker. "Let's move on to the boys, what do you think Katniss?" She just shrugged non-committedly, but the woman wasn't really listening. "Harry Potter!"

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><p>Katniss swore that as she stared out at the crowd she could see...someone...no, not someone, Peeta. The boy she could never stop owing, mouthing something. She would never forget those words;and so far she hadn't. She was currently waiting in the room for tributes to say their good byes.<p>

Her mother and Prim were the first, there were tears in Prim's eyes, and in an attempt to calm her down she promised she would try. But Prim had to understand that there was a real chance she would never come back. She had to.

After that came Madge, her only other friend besides Gale. Speaking of which, why wasn't he here? It didn't matter, but she still waited for him the whole time.

He never showed.

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><p>Harry was sitting alone, waiting for his time to end, when the most unexpected thing happened. He was inspecting his very jagged nails when a very upset looking Peeta stormed in. Harry stood up to greet him only to be slammed into a wall.<p>

"Well that's sure to leave a bruise." Harry said, trying to hold onto some bit of calm.

"Y-you, You have to promise!" The older boy choked out. Harry looked at him quizzically, not quite sure what he was referring to.

"You have to watch her!" Then Harry understood, the look of being completely out of control at the reaping, the wall slamming. He loved her, plain and simple.

"Does she know?" Peeta shook his head.

"She can't, and you can't tell her, but you have to do this for me." Harry really wanted to say no, that he had a home to go back to...but he looked at Peeta, and saw something he understood, the wild crazed look of a desperate man.

All Harry could do was nod.

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><p><strong>Authors note: Yaaay! I am really staring to like this story! sorry if you got the idea that it was a Harry PotterKatniss Everdeen...it isn't currently, but seeing as that I have no idea where I'm going, it might! I would't normally write that, but considering I spent the whole day reading Harry Potter slash-fics, I have no idea! Review Please!...or not... :D**


	4. Forks Will Fly

**Authors note:**** Well, I'm back! It's good to see you all again, and let's just say I'm very glad for my review! Maybe it could be a Harry/Katniss, but I'm not promising anything ;D! P.S. the italics are for a flash back. **

The train was quite a marvel, for muggles anyway. Harry knew magic could do much better, but considering he hadn't come across any wizards, at least ones who were willing to show themselves, all he could guess was that he was the only one.

His room on the spacious vehicle was twice the size of Katniss's house. Even though he found himself missing the coziness of the small cottage like building, he was glad to not wake up to Prims watchful gaze.

Harry later learned the names of the people he had seen on stage; for instance, the man who fell off stage was Haymitch, a previous victor of the games. The woman's name was Effie Trinket, an equally ridiculous name for an equally ridiculous person.

Effie proved to be stricter on the train than she let on onstage at the reaping. There was a tight schedule to keep, and anyone who violated it would receive a "Very stern talking to" as Effie had put it.

For days they had been visiting other districts, and Harry was finding difficult to look into the eyes of the families who he was supposed to rip apart. Every time he saw the faces of the parents, he was reminded of his own broken family, and how easily your whole life can be taken away.

Anger surged through every fiber of his being when he remembered the heated ranting's Katniss and her friend Gale had been talking about in the safety of the woods.

_The older boys head cocked towards Harry in a curious but somehow disgusted tone,_

"_You honestly have no idea what you walked into, do you? What kind of screwed up world the human race has made."_

"_Gale, don't talk about that, he doesn't need to know!"_

"_To hell with he doesn't need to know! That People who force us into slavery so that they can have a nice meal every night while our children are dying on the streets! Then forcing those same children to fight to the death for their own entertainment, yeah, no one needs to know."_

_Harry had been surprised at the sudden outburst from the person standing before him; he wasn't used to questioning the authorities when it came to such huge life decisions. _

_Sure he had broken the rules at Hogwarts plenty of times, but it was different outside school, where the worst that could happen would be expulsion. Here, where speaking against these people could mean your death, Harry sided with Katniss, it was better left unsaid. _

He couldn't get the image out of his mind of people sitting on plush leather couches with oddly colored faces and skin, laughing at a mere child dying on their television screen.

Harry wasn't sure which emotion on the faces of the crowd he should go with. The districts farthest away from the capitol seemed more removed, less worried about the safety of any of those in the games, just waiting for the horror to end.

The closer the train moved to the Capitol though, he noticed the crowds seemed to be more aggressive, they were genuinely happy to see them, made it easier to size up the prey.

Effie had them watch the videos of the other tributes meeting the other districts, and some of them were appalling. A small girl, he believed her name was Rue, just stood there, choking on the mandatory speech given by the Capitol.

Others pumped their fists, screaming death chants, attempting to gain favor before the games even start. The crowds were easily bought over, wanting to have some chance in this ridiculous game the Capitol had created for them.

Harry just couldn't believe some people bought into it, he thought maybe, just maybe there would be someone who didn't want to believe in these games, just because they didn't have the willpower to choose something else.

The next day he saw it, just barely, from the corner of the past victors in district four. The man raised three fingers to his lips, then to Katniss. He had seen this motion once before, when Katniss had been chosen for the games, all of District twelve had stood behind her.

_How interesting,_ Harry thought. _That even in complete destruction and devastation, people still have that loyalty that goes far deeper than family; a mutual understanding for survival that goes just a bit farther._

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><p>That night when Katniss, Harry, and Effie were having supper in the dining cart, Harry decided to ask her about it.<p>

"Uhm, Katniss I'm not quite sure h-how t-to sa-say this but, who was that man from district four?" Katniss just lowered her eyes, quietly munching on some crispy green beans covered in a light soy sauce like dressing.

"Katniss?"

"Finnick, a previous victor, he won at about fourteen, so the same age as you." It was then Haymitch decided to make his presence known, scaring the crap out of Harry.

"But from what Katniss has been telling me, I'd say he had a bit more talent too." Effie immediately pursed her lips; she hated it when coaches belittled her tributes. Katniss however took it much more personally.

"Well maybe if you got off your drunken ass long enough to teach us something that might have any value, we might not have to worry quite as much!" Haymitch smirked to himself as he fell into his chair loading his plate up with Capitol delicacies.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the kitty has cla-"

"Argh!" Katniss screamed before grabbing her steak knife and driving it into the wood between the two panels that made the table. At the same time Harry could feel the mixture of anger and magic that he usually felt before he loses control, and the water glass in front of Haymitch exploded.

Glass flew through the air, littering the floor and getting wedged into the wood of the big double doors. Some pieces landed in food and there were some scratches on Haymitch's hands.

Katniss was the first to look at Harry, her eyes narrow in accusation, followed by Effie's out of place look of surprise. Haymitch just looked at him like he expected it.

"Was it you kid?" he asked, in his ever-so-subtle way. All Harry could do was nod sheepishly while he tried to figure out how to explain it. Unexpectedly Katniss took the reins.

"It's because you're a wizard isn't it? That's what you meant when you were talking to Prim." She asked, but it was less of a question and more of a statement to explain to everyone else.

"Harry, this is important; cheating or not, this could give you a huge advantage over everyone else in the Arena. Not to kill your ego kid, but you aint much." Trying to find the words to explain his being a wizard, he squeezed his eyes shut to concentrate.

"It's, it's like being able to control stuff, or do things you couldn't do before. I had a wand that I usually use, you don't really need it, but I was used to it, so magic will be a lot harder without something to harness it." Even though they were all nodding, he could tell they didn't really understand. It was now that Effie chose to put in a suggestion.

"Why don't you show us Harry?" Her voice was unusually quiet. Nodding Harry focused on something simple, Like a fork.

_Wingardium leviosa!_ Harry chanted in his head, and carefully steered the fork, letting it do slow lazy summersaults above the table before aiming it at the wall and sending it between the crack in the panels like he would a knife.

"Well Effie, looks like we actually got some fighters this year."

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><p>The Capitol could be described in several ways, breathtakingly beautiful, assaulting to the senses, completely frivolous, and Harry's favorite (a quote from Katniss)<p>

"The most ridiculous freaking waste of materials besides the Hunger Games!"

He couldn't help being in awe with the city though, the looming iridescent sky scrapers seemed to brush the sky, and he could see them swaying in the slight wind. He didn't have long to look before Effie intruded on his thoughts.

"Let's go! It's going to be a busy day, and we need to stay on schedule!" She kept rambling, but he tuned her, discovering that he could really care less. It wasn't until he saw Katniss getting the same treatment from Haymitcth that he found the whole situation comical; here they were, being prepared to be sent to their deaths, and Effie was worried about being off-schedule? Ridiculous.

Everyone knew what Katniss would rely on in the arena, she was amazing at archery, but no one knew what Harry could do. Sure, he had magic, but he couldn't be too obvious, that would raise questions from the game makers.

There was also the problem of what personality the two should go with. Haymitch had cornered Katniss and attempted to get something pleasant from her, but realized she had about as much charm and charisma as a dead slug.

Once her time was up, Harry watched as Katniss came storming out of the living area growling.

"He's all yours." She muttered under her breath to Harry. Walking in slowly, approaching him as he would a snake, he sat down in the magenta overstuffed chair opposite of Haymitch.

"So kid, got any talent with crowds?" Haymitch asked, and Harry immediately thought of the time that Professor Lockheart had seen him in Flourish and Blots and had earned him a front page in the paper. Shaking his head, he watched as Haymitch assessed him.

"You don't say much do you kid?" Finding himself shaking his head again he immediately stopped and spoke up,

"I don't usually communicate well, no sir." Haymitch shook his head this time,

"Don't call me 'sir', makes me feel old. But then again, I suppose I am." Haymitch mused to himself.

"Harry, I like you, so I'm gonna be frank. There is no way in Hell you will come out of this thing alive. She," he cocked his head to the door Katniss had stormed out of not just a moment before. "is the only chance you have." Harry not really understanding narrowed his head.

"Kid, if you really want to make it through this, you're going to have to be pretty convincing, how good of an actor are you?"

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><p>Walking through the heavy metal doors, Harry looked over to Katniss, the poster-girl for calm confidence. He knew though, that she really was nervous, the way her jaw slowly clenched and unclenched, her hands in white knuckled fists.<p>

"Katniss, don't be worried, it's just the prep team."

"JUST THE PREP TEAM? THEY WILL STRIP YOU OF YOUR IDENTITY, AND THEN STICK IN AN ARENA TO FIGHT TO THE DEATH WHILE THEY LAUGH AT YOU! "

"Well that certainly puts a different spin on things."

"Thank you for that astute observation Captain obvious!" All Harry could do was laugh, finally, someone who was more scared then him, and not just of the arena.

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><p><strong>Authors note: Okay, sorry that took longer than expected, but I have a science test tomorrow and had to study! Well...Anyway, review please!<strong>

**P.S. If I spelled the spell wrong, I'm sorry! It's been awhile!**


	5. Jealous Much?

**Authors note: Haha! I'm baaack, did you miss me? No probably not it really hasn't been that long, unless you are really addicted to this story like I am. I love my reviews, thank you sooo much, I think that should be permanent, revieeew! Heh heh, it begins again…Harry's about to be attacked by his prep team…*evil laugh***

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><p>Harry was scared, to say the least. The last thing he remembered seeing was his prep team coming at him with a mixture of tools he did and did not recognize. There was a mixture of tweezers, eyelash curlers, mascara, eyeliner, and strange assortments of spiked, curled and round 'beauty' instruments.<p>

After stripping him, scrubbing him down with a gritty foaming substance that left his skin a throbbing pink; after a short time they rubbed a thick green gel on his skin that soothed his sore skin.

Shoving him into the open shower throwing bottles at him they shouted quick instructions that he could barely make out from the loud hiss of the water beating down on his shoulders.

"Rub the pink in your hair, and then rinse it out after ten seconds, condition with blue. Green is soap, and the yellow goes for your face." Trying to follow the list of commands he knew now why the pink only stayed in for so long, while he was reminded the ten second rule, as his scalp began to itch and burn.

Rubbing the foul goo from his hair, he watched as it turned brown and gritty while the substance swirled down the drain. Rubbing blue and green colored powder in his hair and on his body, he felt a tingling sensation spread across his body.

Rubbing yellow lotion over his face, he stepped back into the steady stream of water to let the oddly colored cleansing liquids and powders be rinsed from his raw skin. Running a hand through his hair, he prepared himself to step back into the room where his prep team was waiting.

Obviously he was taking too long because seconds later the group of three came bursting through the small metal doors and grabbed him by his elbows. Dragging him through the door, they put him in a robe and shoved him into a chair.

Closely inspecting every feature of his body, they squinted and nodded to each other, their plan silently agreed to by everyone but him. Harry watched as they grabbed his hands and he couldn't help but flinch, expecting them to try to pull out his toenails, but found that they just clipped them.

They suddenly seemed much less frightening, their oddly colored hair in different styles from corkscrew curls to knobs that lay on the top of their head to dramatically angled bobs. Tattoos swirled on their faces, and eyeliner was never in short supply.

They chattered happily about parties, bad wardrobe choices and whatever superfluous crap they fancied. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the Irony, here were these people dressing him like a turkey about to go into the oven, and they were talking about CLOTHES.

After about a half an hour they deemed him ready and called for his designer, who would be helping him into his actual costume. He wasn't sure exactly what it was he was dressing up for, he knew they would have interviews and such, but that didn't come till later.

The woman who walked into the room was not what he expected, she was rather plain actually, black pumps with light grey skinny jeans, a black button up shirt and a white vest. Her hair was in a French braid and she wore simple purple eyeliner with bright green mascara. She had a commanding presence though and he knew she wouldn't make him a fool, whatever she chose.

She made a quick motion to the crew and they quickly removed his robe, and he was nervous to be so vulnerable in front of this beautiful woman; he was quickly handed a black unitard with a simple black cape.

Sliding into the silky black material he felt someone clip the cape onto the back of his suit, and was promptly shoved out the doors. He was definitely not prepared for what he saw, there were twelve chariots, all in order from districts one to twelve.

Finding the chariot, he felt himself being steered by his shoulders towards a very disgruntled Katniss. Then he saw the chariot; a huge glossy black thing, driven by two humongous sleek black horses. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but then the hands were back, guiding him to the big black chariot.

Stepping in, he found there was just enough space for two people to stand side by side. A large black headdress was shoved onto his head, and before he could protest, he was abruptly set on fire.

Now why, after an hour of preparing for this, would they just kill him? Naturally he didn't think of that, he decided it would be a better idea to scream like Prim would, if her vocal chords could go that high.

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><p>Once Harry had been calmed down, the chariots started rolling out one at a time, and just before he was supposed to go out, he heard someone shout from behind him,<p>

"Remember to hold hands!" Harry instantly felt a strong hand grip his own, and he stopped hyper ventilating, it was nice to be able to have someone to hang onto.

As districts twelve's chariot rolled into the circle, he could practically see all the heads turn to look at them. Looking at the screens projected through all of Panem, he could see why. They were literally on fire, and it was breathtaking.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katniss wave and blow kisses to the audience, who reached and grabbed and hit for one of her kisses.

_Well, that doesn't look too bad._ Harry decided, and followed suit. The audience cheered and screamed and he couldn't help but snicker at their stupidity, did they genuinely think that they could ever be liked by any of these tributes?

As they finally rolled around the last bend, he could hear the audience boo, they wanted more district twelve, something that hasn't happened in over twenty five years.

As He and Katniss stepped off the chariot, Harry could see the other districts glaring holes into the every available spot on their bodies. Katniss finally got tired of the blatant rudeness turned around to the nearest person who felt like glaring.

"WHAT is your problem?" she asked a pretty blonde girl, who immediatelt looked away.

"Huh? What is it? I'm sure one of you can tell me." Another blonde, but male this time stepped forward, his broad shoulders heaving as he spoke.

"You, you are a huge problem." Katniss just smirked at him, much like Malfoy would, only he figured Katniss could actually TAKE a punch.

"Jealous much?" She mocked, and Harry watched as the huge fist swung down to meet her jaw.

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><p><strong>Authors note: What did you think? Sorry if you think my chapters are too short, I just try to keep a steady pace. Might not be able to update for a while because I've got performances for the next week, wish me luck! This may seem a little random, but just got a guitar, got any good names? Review please! :3<strong>


	6. Not To Mention Peeta

_**Authors note: Back to the story! Thank you to those who took the time to review, it really means a lot! I have another idea for a story, but I'm not really sure if I should start it yet, because it will take longer to update on this one, what do you think? Well, enjoy and review!**_

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><p>The huge fist swung towards her jaw, and missed just barely; instead it landed on the side of Katniss' nose, a deafening cracking noise resonating through the cavernous room. Blood spurted from the hole in her face as she fell to the ground, and Harry was worried until he saw that Katniss was <em>laughing.<em>

Blood kept pouring out of her nose, and her laughter turned hysterical before she promptly passed out, leaving Harry to get her back to someone who could help him.

Peacekeepers were immediately on top of the boy, Cato he thought he heard someone scream from across the room. He was handcuffed and dragged away, and Harry swore that he growled; Harry designated him as crazy.

"Anyone want to help?" He shouted to anyone willing to listen; a few looked up but went back to what they were doing. After a few failed attempts of trying to lift Katniss, a huge darkly skinned guy came up to him and motioned to Katniss.

Harry nodded and watched as the man easily scooped Katniss up as if she was nothing but a deadweight ragdoll; Walking over to find a wasted Haymitch staggering around making a half-attempt at finding him and his newly passed out cargo.

"Heyyyy, you. I-I, sa-saw some guy being dr-dragged away; I figured she had something to do with that." He choked out before falling into a fit of giggles on the floor; another useless deadweight.

"I can't get them both; we will come back for them." The man said, his deep voice surprising Harry, who quickly nodded. Walking to the elevator Harry realized that he had no idea where his apartment for the training center was.

"Uhmm…this may be strange, but I have no idea where I'm supposed to be; do you know?"

"Every floor stands for the districts, so you be on level twelve; make any sense?" Harry nodded, it did.

_Something that actually makes sense in the Capitol, how surprising. _He thought darkly. The doors finally opened and harry stepped out and realized that the whole floor was actually for all of them; Effie, Haymitch, Katniss, and him. _One big, happy, family. Oh joy._

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><p>Harry dragged himself out of the comfort of his bed, willing himself from the plush comforter to the equally pleasing shower. The surprising amount of buttons made his head spin so early in the morning; deciding to not even try, Harry slammed his fist into the control panel, hoping it wouldn't be too bad.<p>

A strange mix of a soft bristle brush, a bar of soap, and painfully cold water dropped from the ceiling, everything but the water attached to chords that snapped back when they were no longer attached to their objects.

Trying to go as quickly as he possibly could, he did a short scrub-down not even bothering with his unruly hair. Stepping out of the shower dripping, he was wondering if a towel would drop from the ceiling; and found himself ducking like an idiot until he felt the blast of hot air on his skin.

Within seconds his once drenched skin was red and stretched and very dry. Walking back into the part of his room that had his dresser, he found only different sizes of the same uniform; finding something that would fit relatively well, he slipped the dark shirt and pants on, noticing that it was oddly soft for a uniform.

Trudging into the dining room he settled into the wooden hardback chair reaching for a roll and some butter. It was only when he and Katniss went to reach for the same roll that he even realized anyone else was there.

Blushing slightly, he remembered the plan that he and Haymitch had discussed; noticing the blatant look of hatred on Katniss' face, he wondered how anyone got along with her. At that exact moment he remembered what Peeta had told him, his declaration of love, and how Harry HAD to do this for him.

The words haunted him as he thought of the decision he had to make. How was he supposed to save Katniss, without killing himself? But if he went with Haymitch's plan, Peeta wouldn't think he meant what he said.

Going back to buttering his rolls, he shoved all thoughts aside he tried to decide what he would do at the training center. He wasn't much good at anything, the Dursley's made him stay home while Duddley went to Boyscouts, and the closest thing had learned about how to build a fire was to stay away from Duddley with a lighter.

He shivered as he remembered the burn marks that had been left in his sides when his asinine bully of a cousin thought it would be funny to poke him with a burning poker. Slowly chewing on his wad of bread he gulped down the thick substance in his throat and washed it back with a swig of water.

"So…what exactly are we supposed to do?" he asked, not really to anyone, just seeing if anyone at the table would answer.

"Train." Haymitch said, being his usual helpful self.

"Thank you Haymitch, I'm sure that is very helpful, got any other tips. Like maybe how to win the Games?" Chuckling darkly, Haymitch threw back his head as he chugged down a clear substance Harry assumed wasn't water.

"Yeah kid, stick to her , and stay alive." Rolling his eyes, Harry picked up a fork and stabbed it through a particularly tough sausage, accidentally letting his anger show by rubbing the fork around, making the holes about ten times bigger than they would be regularly.

Just for show he leaned back in his chair and using his magic let the fork float over to him, carefully biting off the end of the sausage.

"Because he most certainly can't take care of himself." Katniss muttered resentfully under her breath, her voice muffled by the bandage that now covered most of her face. Harry snickered at the fact that Peeta had tried to convince Harry that he needed to save Katniss, but everyone else saw that Katniss was really the one saving the pathetic excuse for a tribute that he was.

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><p>Walking into the middle of the gym-like structure, Harry was surprised at the large amounts of stations that were planted around the huge room. Even though he remembered from the plan Katniss and Haymitch had discussed, she was to stay away from the archery, he could see her looking at the targets set up longingly.<p>

Shaking his head slightly, she looked down at him as if to say, _I have no idea what you are talking about. You must be seeing things._

All the districts stood in a circle around a large podium that had a woman standing in the center who had her hand raised waiting for silence.

"Okay, this is how this works, you will go to whatever station you wish, in the wrestling and other weapon stations you will _not_ practice on each other, there are assistants if you wish to practice with a partner. Got it?" walking off the podium the woman went back to her station to supervise the training, making sure it went smoothly.

Harry and Katniss decided to head for the herbs and edible plants table, the test she aced easily, and Harry realized that he would die very shortly after entering the arena. He ate the number one most toxic berry almost every child from the Seem knew not to eat.

Well maybe not all of them, but enough to make Harry feel stupid. Heading next to the camouflage, trying to find something that might be able to help him; and camouflage was definitely not it. Heading next to wrestling, they found out that Harry was flexible enough to wriggle out of your grasp, but had no idea what to do after that.

So the main problem would be catching him…interesting, maybe he could just hide in the trees, assuming of course that there would be trees.

What had mostly caught Harry's attention was briefly seeing the young tribute girl from eleven jumping from equipment to other pieces of equipment. Katniss raised an eyebrow at his fascination,

"I wonder if I could do that."

"You're a bit big." Harry shrugged, not really caring all that much, just wondering. Going on to other stations, they found Harry was crap with spears, but with magic he was perfect with knives, they even found a way to let him get away with it without anyone noticing.

If Harry could get ahold of the knife with his mind before he threw it, he could control it, even make it go farther and faster with the extra power of his magic. They found that though Harry was good with knives, he was complete rubbish at everything else.

By the end of the training session, Harry was dead tired while Katniss barely broke a sweat. _What is she, a super-human?_ Harry asked himself, wondering how she didn't completely skip dinner to fall into bed like he did.

Then he remembered the meager amount of food they had in district twelve, and the grace she had moved through woods which made her strong and able. Though Harry had Quidditch, it wasn't nearly the same, practice wasn't every day and his life didn't depend on it like Katniss and her family did.

And he realized how good he had, had it at the Dursleys. Sure they abused him, but at least he had food, and got Duddleys old clothes, which was better off than most in the districts.

Quickly shedding his clothed he flopped into his already made bed, he burrowed under the covers like the moles that his aunt squealed at when she found them in her perfectly manicured garden.

Thinking about the thoughts he had squashed during breakfast, he shuddered at the thought of having to choose. He could either follow Haymitch's plan, or he could die, and try and 'save' Katniss for Peeta. There was only one thought that deeply disturbed him about Haymitch's plan. Not only would Katniss believe it, but, was he ready to be in love?

_Or at least make my whole life a lie anyway. _

Because Haymitch was right, if there was even the slight chance that he made it out and not Katniss, or they both miraculously did, he would have to keep up the act forever.

_Not to mention Peeta._

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><p><em><strong>Authors note: Tada! Hope you like it! Sorry Katniss got punched in the face, it was just one of those things that Cato said he wanted to do, so I let him!:3 Katniss may also go a little crazy in the arena, so don't be too surprised if she turns out like Annie! But I no promise nuthin'! HAHA you have to find out! thank you for reading, and don't forget to review! This is the narrator, signing off!<strong>_


	7. A Promising New Future

**Authors note: Sorrry! I didn't mean for this to take so long! By the way, are any of you excited to see the Hunger Games? *audience cheers in background*, yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Here we go!**

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><p><em>No. Harry thought. I'm not ready for this. I can't get my score yet, I don't even have any special talents! Well, besides knives, and that doesn't even really count!<em>

_But the voice in his head said otherwise, everything counts in the arena Harry, you know that._

_"Harry Potter, they are ready to see you." A voice boomed out from the speakers that were mounted in the corners of the cavernous cement room._

_Heading towards the single grey door, Harry tried to go through the first signs of a panic attack in his mind, but found he couldn't even remember! As he walked into the room, un unnatural calm washed over him, he felt completely at ease, and then he fell onto the ground._

_**Harry, get up!** He shouted at himself in his mind, but he found that his limbs were like lead, he couldn't FEEL, let alone move any part of his body._

_Facing the ceiling, he could see the tightly stretched face of what he assumed was president Snow, from the description Katniss gave._

_There was something familiar about the too tight features, something not right about the way his fluffy white hair seemed a little off-kilter; the way his tongue darted in and out, reminding him of a snake._

_"Don't worry Harry, you're the Boy Who Lived, aren't you? So this should be just another obstacle that the Chosen One defeated."_

_At that exact moment Katniss walked into his field of vision, her smirk worthy of a Malfoy._

_"Oh, but then there's this lovely jewel, and you love her dearly, don't you? You think it's going to be hard to convince her that it's true isn't it? Let's take it up a notch, why don't you convince me?"_

Harry jumped out of bed screaming, the sheets were tangled around his legs, so that he fell to the floor in a heap of his own limbs. Considering what he hoped was only a dream just now, it was preferable that he was alone.

Breathing heavily, he tried to take control of the violent shaking that had taken over his body. A heavy knocking came from the door followed by the sharp hissing of someone who had just been woken up.

"I don't know what you're doing in there, but you need to shut the hell up!" Harry groaned, why, Merlin why, of all people?

"Katniss…"

"Don't you dare whine to me!" Harry, not in the mood to try to make her feel better, went for Haymitch's plan.

Crawling up to the door, he leaned his cheek against it, the cool of the metal welcome from the sweat he had accumulated while he was asleep.

"Katniss…" His voice was softer, no longer whining, more of a desperate plea; judging from her less angry tone, it was working.

"What?"

"Don't, just, don't leave me, okay?" he begged through the door, he didn't think puppy-dog faces worked through six inch metal doors, but he gave it a shot anyway. He could hear her sigh heavily, and he knew he won.

"Fine, let me in." Using the handle as a support Harry dragged himself to a standing position; the effort was oddly large and draining. Flipping the latch, he stood back as she flung the door open. Taking notice of the sheets, she raised a single eyebrow,

"Busy?"

"Nightmare." She nodded her head, that made more sense. She walked over to his bed and rearranged his sheets, lying on top of the sheets she patted the spot beside her, waiting for him to sit down.

Harry settled in beside her, letting his head lean on her shoulder, she patted the top of his head like she would a brother, or her sister Prim.

"Katniss, will you sing for me?" he could feel her slight shoulders shake with a light chuckle,

"Sorry, Harry I don't sing anymore."

"Anymore?"

"When my father was alive, we used to sing in the forest…well he would sing and I would listen, then later I would imitate his songs."

"Please?" Katniss sat for a while, thinking about the consequences of not singing, and decided it would be better for the both of them if she did.

Her voice was high and haunting, the melody was the fear that gripped his heart in the deep of night, the words were just background that he didn't really pay attention to, and between her steady voice and the even rise and fall of his chest, he found himself spiraling once again into darkness.

The last notes of Katniss's song were the last thing he remembered before he plunged into the emptiness of a sleepless dream.

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><p>Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he woke up to find himself leaning snugly into Katniss's side. Gently pulling himself off of her he detangled himself from the sheets and went to take a shower, grabbing clothes he headed straight to the bathroom.<p>

Knowing now what buttons on the control panel did what, he flicked a few switches and tapped some buttons, producing a light fluffy soap, a soft-bristled brush, and a thickly scented shampoo. Rubbing soap onto his arms, he thought about his next move; if he and Katniss went too far into a brother-sister relationship, they wouldn't come back out, he knew that much.

Was he ready though, and what about Cho? He felt a weight fall into his stomach when he thought about her, how could he just forget about her, and Ron and Hermione?

He had been suppressing the thoughts of home, but he knew he couldn't put off those feelings forever. Would he ever see them again? How would he get back to them, after this was over? He had lost the cup in the woods.

Or had he? He never really bothered to ask Katniss if she had ever found it. But what if someone had it? He didn't think muggles could use Portkeyes, but he didn't know he was a wizard until he turned eleven, so maybe there were some out here.

He made up his mind; he would talk to Katniss when she woke up. He suddenly realized what today was. Today was the day he was supposed to show the game-makers what he was made of.

He was good with knives, but what else? He couldn't use magic, unless it was discreet. But there was one thing, it was almost unimaginable, but there it was. If he was clever enough to pull it off; it would need a lot of acting, and lots of fake knowledge.

And so what if he screwed it up? Honestly, what could they do? Kill him?

_What a joke!_ Harry thought. _I don't have a family, so kill me! There isn't much left at this point anyway. Be a pretty fair fight anyway, all of them against an Avada Kedavra! that's funny!_

An image of citizens from the Capitol piled in a huge pile in the square of District Twelve, a circle of victors standing on top, cheering on the rebellions of their districts popped into his head.

_Someday, someday Katniss; I promise that will be your's. _

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><p><strong>Authors note: Okaay, well it took a while, but here it is! Tada! Mystery! Who is President S.? Anyone got any ideas? Review please! This is the Narrator, signing off!<strong>


	8. You Sick Bastard!

**Authors note: okay, so you all love me, you know that right? Yes, I'm so self-sacrificing, staying up until two O'clock in the morning to write; and yes I'm soooo humble, it's good that you know that! Here's another chapter!**

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><p>You could say Harry was nervous, his knee's shook, his head pounded, his hands were practically vibrating they were shaking so bad, and he was definitely sure something was wrong with him if he was actually getting used to the feeling of regurgitating his entire digestive system.<p>

Katniss had her interview before him, and he could see on the small screen provided in the waiting room that she was doing much better than he ever hoped to.

Considering that his standard was _not_ throwing up, well, he guessed it wasn't that hard to reach; unless of course you were him. In the small screen he saw Katniss twirl in a circle, the fiery red gems of her dress cast flashes of light across the audience, a chorus of ooh's, and ah's flooding the spacious room.

Harry himself couldn't help a small gasp at the beautiful creature that was laughing her musical laughter on the small screen in front him. Haymitch wanted Harry to convince this, this gorgeous, strong woman that he was in any way worthy of her love? Who was he kidding?

_Katniss hopefully._ A very familiar voice whispered.

_Wha? Do I know you?_ He thought to himself, if there was no one there, he had the added bonus of no one knowing how stupid he sounded.

_Yes, Harry; but for the safety of myself and everyone at Hogwarts, I cannot let you know my identity. I will be able to help you in the Arena, so I could help you with survival tactics. I have to go now, bye. _

_Wait-_

_Goodbye Harry. _ And the voice was gone, Harry could feel it in his chest, the warmth that had surrounded his heart was gone, leaving the cold empty feelings of loneliness his only companion besides the dread of trying to woo Katniss.

It had been a sudden decision, but he was sure it was the right one, he needed Katniss, and as time went on she would grow to need him too. She had to.

"**Harry Potter!"** The speaker boomed, and Harry pushed onto the thick blue metal doors that led to his fate. It may have been a rather dramatic way of looking at things, but Harry was used to looking at life from that perspective.

From the day that his parents died, he was the boy who lived, or as Malfoy had teased him, "The-Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Fricking'-Die!" He had moved on to fight Voldemort on several occasions, and had gained even more fame than he had previously acquired.

Walking past the odd looking man with his blinking blue suit and his bright cerulean lips and eyes, he reminded him of some sort of Lady Gaga video, the abstract colors, and odd looking make-up.

Sliding smoothly into the seat opposite of the…interesting man, Harry reached his hand out to greet the man.

"Rather formal aren't you? I think I heard something from Effie about being glad to finally have a set of tributes that had the decency to use manners at the dining table."

_Hah, decency, that's hysterical! Tell us we're crude because we didn't have enough food to eat and that we are distasteful, while you sit high and mighty in your lush apartments, eating your posh foods that you didn't even have to work for! And you say we are the ones that 'need manners'!_

"Yes, my parents were rather forceful when it came to eating in a way that presented oneself as high and esteemed." He chuckled, remembering that it indeed wasn't his parents, but Hermione, who had slapped his hand every time he forgot 'how to eat like a civilized human being!'

The treatment hadn't gone over nearly as well for Ron, who refused to be agreeable.

"Well, Harry, go on and tell us about yourself, you seem like an interesting individual."

"Well sir, there really isn't much to tell. My parents died when I was young, but since I was good with medicine, I was allowed to live with Katniss."

"So, wait…what you're saying is that you and Katniss live together, and you both happened to be picked for the games? That must be difficult, considering the fact that you must be siblings, having lived together for most of your childhood."

"Well, yes, partly anyway. Katniss has been like a sister to me, and so has her younger sister Prim. But the thing is, Katniss… Katniss, I-I love,"

"Yes?" the man said, you could hear the crowd hush, they were on the edge of their seats, every twist in the story broadcasted for their viewing pleasure.

"Go on."

"I-I,"

This time it was the crowd who pushed him, shouts of, _Spit it out!, _and,_ Come one!_ Filled his ears, and this time he shouted it, so that no one could interrupt or not hear it,

"I LOVE YOU KATNISS EVERDEEN!" looking through the crowd, he found Haymitch, who was smirking in his seat, and he knew had done the right thing. Looking a second time, he found a blushing Katniss, and all the cameras were trained on her.

Smiling a little shyly, she looked at him, her eyes cold and calculating, so different from the light look that danced on her face. Almost unnoticeably, she mouthed something, and Harry gulped down the bile that jumped up his throat.

"_You will pay for this."_ Smiling back weakly, Harry turned back to the man in front of him, and waited for it all to be over, the end came fairly quickly as the announcer proclaimed,

"And that's all for our interview, thank you Panem, and may we wish all our tributes a good games!" The lights dimmed, the crowd cheered, and the cameras stopped rolling.

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><p>Effie was the first on the set, quickly followed by Katniss, who made no small show of shouldering him as she walked by, and he fell onto the ground, landing on his hand with a deafening <em>crack!<em>

"Katniss get back here! You just broke one of our tributes!" Effie squealed, her Capitol accent giving an extra pitch to her abnormally high voice.

Harry's wrist began to throb, which steadily grew into a piercing stabbing that needled his wrist, burning up and down his arm. Letting out a sharp gasp, he saw multi-colored dots make circular patterns across his vision, like trying to see through a kaleidoscope.

He felt strong arms grab him under his arms, and tug him somewhat to his feet; but he couldn't stand up, so he let the arms drag him to his room…hopefully that's where they were taking him anyway.

The familiar deep voice took him by surprise, but once he recognized the speaker, he relaxed into the strong arms that had helped him get Katniss back to their room.

"You know, if you let small things like this get to you in the arena, you won't make it very far." Trying to gather his thoughts, Harry opened and closed his mouth, feeling the dry spots on his tongue. Settling for something easy, he let out a soft,

"Yeah…"

They walked a little farther, and Harry couldn't take the uncomfortable silence and asked a basic question,

"Hey, what is your name?"

"Thresh." The big man answered simply, he didn't seem to mind the silence.

Harry reached out an arm when they got to his floor, and knocked quietly, waiting for someone to answer the door.

Surprisingly, it was Haymitch who answered the door,

"Hey, look who finally made it back!" moving out of the way, Thresh dragged Harry to his bed and tossed him up onto it.

"Ugh! Now I'm really gonna throw up, thanks Thresh." Haymitch hiccupped as he entered the room,

"Aww, looook! Harry's making friends!" then tossing his head back, he shouted in the general direction of Katniss's bedroom,

"You might want to try that Sweetheart!" Hearing a dull thud outside the door, guessing that the severely POed girl had thrown something.

Thresh just shook his head,

"And who though putting you three together was a good idea?"

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><p>Harry was awoken the next morning by the now dull throbbing in his wrist; it had at least died down a little.<p>

Not bothering with a shower, he walked into the living room, surprised to find a somewhat sober Haymitch waiting for him.

"Harry, it's time we had a talk." Harry couldn't help but flinch, whenever someone started a conversation that way, he couldn't help feeling like he had done something wrong, even when he knew he hadn't.

"We need to discuss the score you got." Harry let out a breath, he had done fairly well.

"How did you get that twelve?" Harry shuffled his feet,

"Funny you should ask that…"

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><p><em>Harry walked into the area that he had spent so much time training in, it hadn't been all that long, but it felt like ages. First going to the knives, he used his wandless magic to throw the knives, and hit every stuffed dummy directly in the middle, or heart depending on what they were; even the moving ones. <em>

_Then walking over to the camouflage section, he found if he mixed a disillusionment charm with the paint, he could actually blend into just about anything without knowing much about colors; that and the fact that he was not artistic in anyway. _

_Lately, he had been practicing the move that he had seen the small girl from district eleven do, he found if you shifted your hips before you landed, it was a more feline landing, making you lighter. _

_Flying from the tops of the equipment, he landed safely by the swords. Picking one up, he found that they were much heavier than he thought. _

_Dropping it on the ground, he bowed and walked out._

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><p>"But Harry, you didn't even really <em>do<em> anything."

"Yes I did."

"Wha-"

"Imperio." Haymitch immediately shut up, and started rolling on the ground, wagging his tongue like some sort of dead, slimy slug.

"Oh, stop that."

Harry called off the curse, done proving his point.

"How-how did you do that?" Harry swore that was the only time he ever heard Haymitch sound small.

"It's called magic, and that was really difficult magic, especially without a wand."

"Well it was very convincing."

"It's also illegal."

"Wait, what? What's the point of magic if it's illegal?"

"No, not all magic, but that spell is." Haymitch nodded, then he shook his head, preparing to ask another question, but Harry cut him off.

"Spells are how Witch's and Wizards use their magic."

"Oh, okay."

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed." Haymitch nodded, he needed time to process the extent of Harry's power; or maybe just get really drunk and pass-out somewhere.

Harry walked back to the room he had just left moments ago; he wasn't ready to face the world just yet. Falling onto his bed, he didn't even have time to change clothes before he was asleep.

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><p><em>Harry was surrounded by forest, a thick fog closing off his vision, and though he could barely notice it, his lungs too. He walked deeper into the familiar woods, the thick tree roots reminding him of some far off memory, that he wasn't quite sure was important or not. <em>

_Finding a thick trail of silvery-white goop, he followed the strange substance, and gasped at the sight. He had seen President Snow once, after his dream, right before the interviews, he had a short commentary. _

_Covered in a flowing black cape, kneeling before the dead carcass of a Unicorn, was President Snow; it was now that Harry recognized him. _

_Without hair, the contacts and the illusion spells, it hit him who it was. _

"_It's been a while boy, but I can't say that I was looking forward to seeing you so soon."_

"_Nice to see you too."_

"_Don't play games with me!"_

"_Sorry, I forgot how much Slytherin's hate being beaten at their own games."_

"_Ahhh, but you forget, you're in __**my**__ games now, or did you forget." _

"_Should've known it was you, you sick bastard!"_

"_Temper, temper."_

"…"

"_Harry, you can't win, you must know that."_

"_That doesn't mean I won't try Voldemort, surely __**you**__ must know that."_

"_I do, at least it will be fun to watch."_

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><p><em><strong>Authors note: Here you go! Sorry that it was kinda' obvious that it was Voldemort, but oh well! I wanted to post this for the Hunger Games movie, so Happy Hunger Games, may the odds be ever in your favor! (don't forget to review!) <strong>_


	9. Let the PreGames Begin!

**Authors note: Hey guys! Happy to see I have more reviews, and that a majority likes the story! Sorry that the story seems to have so many loose ends, to fix that, this whole chapter is from Katniss's point of view! Okay, so it won't fix everything, but I thought it might be fun to write a Katniss point of view. If you don't like it I'm sorry, if you don't think you'll like it, don't read it, and if you do, don't flame me because you don't like it personally keep it professional! :D sorry, I'll leave now!**

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><p>Katniss couldn't believe it. The stupid jerk had the nerve to announce his love for her to all of Panem, and all Haymitch had to say was that she should improve her people skills! What about Harry, he hadn't even known her for a month and he had the audacity to say he loved her?<p>

The only person she had ever met that wasn't in her immediate family that she felt anything besides contempt for was Gale. She missed Gale so much, he was the best (only) friend she had and they were able to talk about everything in the safety of the woods.

She missed the angry tone his voice would take when he raged on about the injustices of the Capitol; the way his misty grey eyes would spark with his passionate speech. She missed the way he could slowly stalk her in the woods while she was hunting, and she would never know because she was too focused to even think someone might be there.

He would laugh at her, teasing her with the fact that she could have been shot at by a Peacekeeper and she wouldn't stop to think it could have been her they were shooting at.

"Yeah, but you'd be there to save me Gale."

"Yeah, yeah I would. I always will." She wasn't quite sure what she saw in him that day, but there was that spark in his eyes, the one she only saw when he was talking about something important; like when he talked about the capitol, or when one of his siblings was sick and they had to wait it out.

She missed Gale, and she wasn't sure if they were just friends anymore. Deep in the woods, on the day of the reaping, they had walked quietly to the woods, and just as they had finished eating the bread that Gale had gotten for the occasion, Gale had leaned over slightly and kissed her.

It wasn't the slow long kind that she had seen between her mother and father when she was younger, before the explosion. It was a quick I-want-you-to-know kind of kiss, and she couldn't have stopped him if she tried. Not that she would have, tried that is.

Before she could react he was on his feet, and those silent strides she was so envious of carried him out of the forest, away from her. Though it was quick, she could still feel his soft lips on hers, and she freaked herself out with the realization that she wished he would come back and kiss her like he meant it.

Like he wasn't ashamed of his feelings. Even if he was scared, because she wanted him back; but the moment was gone, and she was alone with a man that said he loved her. The only problem was, she could never return those feelings, because her heart was back in district twelve, along with the man with the, misty grey eyes.

_Damn you Harry!_

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><p>Katniss walked groggily to the dining room and was surprised to see that Harry had actually gotten up before her. Running a hand through her hair, she noticed the bulky cast that covered a good portion of Harry's forearm.<p>

She nodded at him politely, earning her a puzzled look from him, why should she be nice to him, she already broken his wrist. Plopping down onto the only untaken seat, she grabbed a roll and buttered it with a sweet cinnamon-butter mixture.

"Good morning Sweetheart, good to see you. Look, we got some news; eat your roll, and then we'll explain." Katniss munched on her roll slowly now, not knowing what they were going to tell her, so she stalled as long as she could.

Finally finishing the last crumb, she had no other excuse, and prepared herself for whatever they were going to tell her. It was Effie that began speaking next.

"Katniss, as you very well know it is completely against the rules to hurt any of the tribute before the games."

"Try telling that to Cato." Katniss mumbled under her breath.

"So it is mandatory that you fix your problems with Harry before the Games start." Katniss had heard of this happening once before, one of the people from the same district had been friends, so they asked the other to kill them. The friend hadn't been able to do it, but everyone knew that the person had tried, so they put them in a separate arena to solve their 'problems'.

Unfortunately, they both killed each other, so they had to pick new tributes.

"But what about Cato, he broke my nose."

"He will be there too." Katniss sighed,

_Great, now I get to be stuck with Lover-boy and the Sociopath; one big, happy, family. _

Harry, not exactly liking this plan chimed in.

"So, what exactly is going to happen?" Haymitch, finding the whole situation entirely amusing, decided it would be fun to see how much he could freak Harry out said,

"Well, basically, they will put you three in an old arena for three days and see whose left."

"Really?" Effie shook her head at Harry,

"Of course not, it's for four days." Katniss felt her stomach drop, who was she kidding? There was no way she would make it four days with Cato hunting her down.

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><p>After a few more questions she found out that she and Harry had two days of extra training before the four days in the arena. There were rules for inside the arena, for example, Cato couldn't go after Harry, unless Harry went after him first. Which was highly unlikely; Katniss could go for Harry whenever she wanted to though, and Cato could go after her.<p>

Harry had more of a chance of surviving, because he didn't have Cato on his back, but he still had Katniss. If Harry stayed out of things, Katniss might not kill him, but if she did, that would be one less person in the arena to look out for.

It would also lose her sponsors. How would it look if she killed the man who publicly declared his love for her? Even if she didn't love him, she could at least pretend, couldn't she?

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><p>She was back to the room she thought she would never have to be in again, the training center. Spears and knives and bows and arrows were a small selection of the weapons they had on hand. There were also the edible plants and the camouflage sections.<p>

Katniss knew she had to think of a plan, she couldn't walk into the arena blindly, knowing nothing of her opponent. Unable to think of a different plan, she decided she would follow Cato from behind other stations, watch what he was good at, see what he was incapable of, and see if she could use it to her advantage.

The first station he went to was the edible plants, which he failed miserably. The first thing he picked was a strawberry, which, if you had no idea that is edible would look toxic, but he got that. Then he guessed Nightlock, and the screen flashed red.

Cato, who was extremely upset at this point, threw the table over so that the top was lying on the ground.

Laughing, Katniss turned away when he shot her an angry glare, but she was still laughing. He stormed angrily over to her, and she turned and looked at him, her hand was on her cocked out hip.

"Uh, uh buddy boy, you in enough trouble as it is, I wouldn't mess around no more if I was you."

"Don't tell me what to do." He whispered in his low threatening voice.

"Doesn't play well with others, I see."

He just grumbled as he walked away,

"Yeah that's right, you just keep walking." Harry called from the next station over; he was working with the spears, even though he knew he would never be able to use one.

"Harry! Butt out!"

"I'm sure you'd looove that."

"Why yes I would. I like to think that if someone told me that they love me, they'd at least stay alive long enough to let me love them back." She smiled at Harry's expression, first fear, then a forced calm and then admiration.

"I love you." He said, and though she knew he didn't mean it (he couldn't, could he?) she felt giddy, this guy loved her! Okay, not really, but it still had the same effect.

"I love you too." She found herself saying, and she could hear Cato snort from the station on her other side.

"Shoot me now." Katniss shot him a dark look.

"That can be arranged." She said, as she picked up the knife she had been practicing with, and took aim.

"Whoa there, there's plenty of time for that in the arena you two." Harry reminded them, he would be damned if Cato took his woman just when he got her.

Katniss shook her head,

"You're right; I'll have four days to kill you anyway."

"Yeah, because _I'm _the one who'll be dead when this is over."

"Hell you will, if you think I'm letting you anywhere near _my_ woman then you're kidding yourself."

"Twig, I will break you!"

"Yeah I'm sure you'd like to think that." Harry said almost fondly, remembering when he had used the imperious curse on Haymitch, and how easy it had been to take him down.

"Harry, let it go, he won't believe you."

"Yeah, people don't like it when they find people stronger than them." Cato bristled at his words, but made no move for him.

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><p>Katniss knew she was walking on thin ice now, she and Harry had spent the whole of their training that day berating Cato, and though it wasn't smart to, it showed one of his main weaknesses, how angry he was.<p>

He could easily beat them both in a fair fight, but that was the thing, with Harry around there would never _be_ a fair fight. Everyone knew that in the arena it was every man for himself, and if you have an advantage, use it; because it_ isn't_ fair, and it gives an edge.

As Haymitch had once stated on one of his drunken speeches,

"It's just a show, all they want is a good show, so give it to them. They're going to kill you anyway." Everyone felt like that last part wasn't meant for them; Haymitch had let something happen in the arena, and it had been unplanned.

Though it wasn't meant for her, it stuck the most. _They're going to kill you anyway._ What did it mean? That she never meant anything, that it was just some grand scheme to keep everyone busy until the real fun began?

The thought scared her, but then that was the point, wasn't it? It was a good a plan as any, she supposed, keep everyone distracted by using children to fight their wars to give them some time.

And she knew then, what she never really thought to guess before, that it didn't really matter. It didn't matter what happened now, in Panem, because it wasn't real.

And she laughed, it made sense that it wasn't real; in all honesty, how could it be? And if it isn't real, then who came up with it? What sick bastard would have the twisted black heart to think up such a scheme?

_Think Katniss, you know. _And she did, she knew exactly who would.

_President Snow._

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><p>Today was her second and last day for training before the pre-arena. She was worried; worried about herself, about Harry, about who would make it out and who wouldn't. It didn't really make that much sense that they would put her in an arena with someone who had already shown that they wanted to harm her.<p>

She knew the point of the games was to kill the children of the districts, but why didn't they just round them up and kill them all? Why let one live? But even as she thought it she knew.

_Because there is hope, hope that even for a little while, there might be a chance to have some piece of happiness. And that happiness is what people turn on each other for; they will send their children into an arena so that they might have the chance to be happy._

She also knew that wasn't true for all the districts, just the career districts, like the one Cato came from, where they train and work for the _honor_ of the games.

Arriving at the training center, she thought that it would be a better idea to stick with Harry, show him some important skills for staying alive. He wasn't bad at edible plants, he was no good with a bow, he was great with knives, but he really wanted to go for swords.

"Listen, Harry, I know swords are cool but unfortunately they're not very useful. Sure you can chop someone to bits, and if you're in the jungle they make a good machete, but beyond that, they're not good for much else."

"See Katniss dear, that's where you're wrong; because I've got the power." He said showing off his not very impressive guns.

"Darling, I hate to say it, but you know what Haymitch said, you aren't to go showing off you powers so bluntly." Harry put off a cool front, but she could see in his eyes there was something he wasn't telling anyone, something important.

He nodded to her,

"We'll talk about this later."

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><p>After the training practice, Katniss had gone back to their floor, the pre-arena wasn't until tomorrow. Harry had been quiet for the remainder of the session, and they had done a lot of work. They had gone over plants until her knew almost everything she did, he finally got her to help him with swords, and it turned out that he wasn't bad.<p>

He had gotten better with spears, but he didn't have the precision for bow. Working with the weights had shown them that he could lift about fifty pounds. The muscle he had gained from Quidditch had been quickly lost from the time he had spent in district twelve.

Harry… what was she to do about him? She had already made the decision that she would play out the 'star crossed lovers from district twelve' thing, but how to go about making it obvious? Knowing that there was no way for both of them to make it, should she love him as long as she can, or should she push him away? It would be easier to just push him away; she didn't like to think that she might be good at lying.

At the same time she hated herself for being able to look at her 'emotions' this way. That she could think of Harry as just a tool, a piece in the game she was playing against the Capitol. She couldn't love him; she loved Gale, so she had to win, for Prim, for Gale, even her mother.

Harry would understand, wouldn't he? It's not like he had anyone to go home for.

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><p>Katniss had been sitting in her room, trying to think of a strategy that might help her survive her four days with Cato when a tentative knock came at her door.<p>

"Come in." she nodded at Harry as he peeked his head in.

"Katniss, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Alright Harry, just make it quick." He nodded and quietly closed the door behind himself. Dropping quietly on the bed beside her, he took a deep breath, preparing to talk.

"Katniss, that day, when you found me in the woods; did you find a portkey?" Katniss furrowed her brow in confusion; she had no idea what Harry was referring to.

"Uhm, Harry, what is a portkey?"

"Oh, sorry Katniss, I forgot that you wouldn't know what a portkey is. This portkey was basically a giant blue cup, with silver handles; did you happen to see anything like that?" Katniss shook her head; she thought she would remember something like that.

"Oh, well that's too bad."

"Yeah, sorry Harry, it sounds like it was important."

"It was, it's how I got here." That confused Katniss, how could a cup do anything. She knew Harry was magical, but that is just a cup. Harry taking notice of her puzzled face elaborated,

"Portkeys are magical objects that transport witches and wizards (occasionally muggles, by accident) to different places. It's not usually fun in any way, but it works." It didn't make much sense to Katniss but she nodded, wanting the conversation to be over.

"Katniss, what's wrong? You've not been yourself lately; you're always quiet, stuck in your own head. What's going on in there?" he asked, and she swore he heard genuine concern in his voice.

"Drop the act Harry, no one's around." She murmured, tired of pretending, knowing it only got harder.

"What act?" he asked, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought he meant it.

"Your act, Harry; the star crossed lovers, you don't love me!" she shouted, not realizing how high her voice got when she was upset. Harry could see it, and he narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out exactly what she thought she was seeing.

"Who exactly are you trying to convince?" he asked,

"Because I don't need someone to tell me how to feel." Harry walked out of the room then, leaving his hanging words there for her to ponder.

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><p>Today was the day, the day Katniss was to enter the arena for the first time. Sure it didn't technically count, but it was pretty close. Her odds were less in her favor considering that there were three of them (one of which almost counted for two) that wanted her dead. The other was on her side, saying that he loved her, making the situation that much more difficult.<p>

Harry, what was she to do about that? Her mind flashed back to the conversation they had, had last night; and she was more confused than ever. He said that he loved her, and she said that he didn't mean it, that it was just a trick for the Capitol, and she meant it.

She honestly thought that Harry had done it to save himself, but he had said otherwise; that he knew his feelings, and he didn't need Katniss to tell him how he felt. But more importantly, that she did.

Did he really think that? That she needed to be told what to do? Obviously she did, considering that she was going along with a plan that said she was in love with a fourteen year old boy. Two years isn't that much of a difference, but it still got to her.

That someone so much younger seemed to be able to read her better than Gale. _No that isn't true, nobody knows me like Gale. _ A voice in her head said differently,

_Maybe, just maybe Katniss, it's not that he reads you better; he just knows how to say it to you. _

_No, that can't be it! Gale has always told me how he feels!_ Even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't true, she knew that Gale loved her even if he never said it, and it blinded him. It blinded him to her faults, to her mistakes, to the way that she relied on others for her glory.

Cinna, her amazing stylist, was able to make her beautiful and appealing, Harry made her seem desirable by proclaiming his love for her, and though she hated to admit it, without those things, she would probably have little to no sponsors.

Rolling out of bed, Katniss took a quick hot shower and threw on whatever clothes she found in her drawers first. Walking into the dining room once again, she sat down and took deep gulps from her glass of orange juice.

Haymitch cleared his throat, demanding that she pay attention to him; swinging her head in his direction, she noticed that he was sober for once.

"Listen, Sweetheart, we gotta talk; you and Harry need to team up, he is your only chance for sponsors, and you are his only chance for surviving past the first day." She scoffed into her juice, not believing what he was trying to saddle her with.

"Isn't that your job? It's not my fault if he dies." She could see the hurt register on his face; _I guess I don't love you after all._ She thought

"Right, Sweetheart, that attitude is exactly what I'm talking about; you don't know how to get along well with anyone. Harry already has two potential allies for in the arena; it wouldn't kill you to try, but it will to not do anything." Katniss huffed at Haymitch, she didn't like having to get along with Harry, she didn't love him, and she refused to believe otherwise.

"You know, Katniss; I really do love you, and if you don't love me tell me, because I'm tired of playing this sick game with you. It hurts too much." She looked up at him but he had already left the room, and she felt a surge of hatred towards him, how _dare_ he be so blunt!

It wasn't fair that he was able to be so open while she felt like she couldn't make a simple decision because no matter what she did , someone would be hurt; whether it was her or Harry or Gale, she couldn't win.

Well screw that then, she would just have to do what meant to get her out of the arena; if that meant she would be in love with Harry, then she would, if that meant she killed him, then she would kill him. The only question now was what was the best course of action? Killing Harry would lose sponsors, and he didn't deserve it, but he didn't deserve to be lied to, but it was better, wasn't it?

Then that's what she would do.

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><p>Katniss had been with Cinna for a little under fifteen minutes preparing for the short time she would be spending with Cato with Harry.<p>

"Don't worry Katniss, it's like the actual games, no one _has_ to die, so if you can avoid Cato for four days, do that, avoid confrontation at all costs." He warned, in a slight attempt at making her feel better.

"It's still an arena, and when this is done, I still have to go into another one." She sighed, no matter what he said, she couldn't feel any better; unless he said that it was just a dream and she would wake up back in district twelve, or even better, somewhere else entirely.

But of course he doesn't. Patting her shoulder, he pulls her closer and embraces her in a tight hug. He smells the chemicals of the Capitol, but somehow coming from Cinna, it's comforting. The timer buzzes and makes Katniss jump a foot out of her skin.

Walking toward the clear glass tube that would take her to the arena, and she went over the plan in her head. She and Harry would run straight for shelter, she figured there wouldn't be a cornucopia, not a very large one at least. Run away from the supplies went against her instincts but she knew it was the best plan, because it would be away from Cato.

The next step was to find water, they could go without food for a while, but there was no way they could live without water for four days.

The small circular platform she was standing on slowly rose along with her stomach that decided that it would be a good idea to jump up her turned slightly and she stared at Cinna, begging him with her eyes to save her, all he did was nod and wave.

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><p>The sun blinded Katniss, she could hear the countdown but she was disorientated. Just as she heard the final buzzer go off she gained her vision enough to see Cato running full speed towards her, and Harry hot on his heels.<p>

"Harry, get your ass away from him, I don't want to have to save you!" she could see his smirk from fifty feet away,

"But darling, don't you know it's _me_ saving _you?" _ She sighed and jumped off her pedestal, _let the pre-games begin, _she thought.

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><p><strong>Authors note: So a few of you were asking for longer chapters, so from now on I'll be pushing for about five thousand words, this one only came to a little over four-hundred. Did you like it? Sorry if you don't like that it's from the side if Katniss, but I wanted to show what she's thinking too, I know it goes back to her Harry and Gale a lot, but she doesn't know about Peeta, so he's not really important to her, sorry! He <strong>_**will**_** be important later though, I promise! Okay, I go now, but ****you**** review! Heehee, thank you, come again! **

**P.S. which characters do you think should make it out? Or do they all? Message me for ideas! **


	10. Damn you voice!

**Authors note: sorry that it took so long! D: I was camping, then I was sick, then life butted in and decided to be difficult, but here's your chapter! Enjoy! **

**SPECIAL THANKS: to Ninja Master, for constant pestering on details, ideas, and always sending praise on chapters, thank you! :D**

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><p>Katniss had never met someone as stupid and reckless than Harry in all of her life; the moment she had stepped off the pedestal, Cato had made a flying tackle for her. Sadly for him, Harry had gotten there just seconds before.<p>

Her first thought was he was going to kill her, and she made futile attempts at trying to throw him off; while she was struggling, she noticed that Cato was no longer attacking her, because he couldn't attack Harry to get to Katniss.

She mentally slapped herself in the forehead for not thinking of what Harry's plan was; knowing Harry though he probably hadn't actually thought of it till he did it. Remembering what he had told her about Hogwarts and the House he was from, Gryffindor he had said, Gryffindor must have been the school's label for dangerous and stupid.

_Is not!_ A voice shouted in her head, she squinted her eyes and pretended she didn't hear it.

Because Harry wasn't attacking Cato, he was attacking Katniss, Cato couldn't make a move for either one of them; it was quite a good plan, Katniss just wished she had thought of it first. Harry had pinned her to the ground, her hands were positioned above her head, with Harry sitting on her stomach.

She imagined that it looked rather…interesting. Cato had gotten impatient and started walking away, muttering something about getting it on in the arena. Katniss could only imagine what was going on his small twisted mind.

Taking advantage of the fact that Harry was looking away, Katniss shoved the raven-haired boy off of her, he was making it hard to breath. She had hit him hard enough so that when he fell on his side the air swooshed out him.

As he sat up he stared at her indignantly, which she laughed at; she couldn't help but think of how ridiculous everything was, how she 'loved' Harry, and how everything she thought she had to live for didn't really matter.

It was like anything that had ever meant anything to her wasn't even real, because it wasn't. Gale wasn't real he was just someone that she was hunting partners with, someone to help feed her family; her family wasn't really real anyway either, they made her sad and they made her work hard. Sure she could say that she loved them, but that was only because they were related to her, that's not a very good reason to love someone.

At least that's what she told herself, that they weren't real and they didn't mean anything; they were just related to her, which was easier. She couldn't let herself be attached to them, no one, not even Harry. Because, because even if he wasn't real, there was Gale. Wasn't there? He wouldn't forget, he couldn't, could he? _No!_ she told herself, _ he wouldn't dare._

_I swear if he forgets about me, I will kick his ass!_ She thought angrily, _that is, if I make it out of the games. _She knew she would though; there was no way she couldn't really win. There were definitely people bigger and stronger and healthier than her, but she was destined to win, she just felt it.

Harry snapped his fingers in front of her face, and she shot a death glare at him; how rude!

"Katniss! What could you possibly be thinking about, I've been sitting here calling your name for ten minutes." This registered to her as very, very bad.

"Harry, why didn't you talk to me sooner? Cato could have all the supplies there might be already!"

"Well, I was try-"

"Don't argue Harry, let's go!" she shot to her feet, and grabbed Harry by his wrists, attempting to pull him to his feet; but he stubbornly wouldn't let her.

"Don't help me to my foot, that's what _I'm_ supposed to do."

"Harry, there is no time to be chivalrous right now, we have to go!"

"Alright, alright." Harry said, reluctantly climbing to his feet. Looking around she noted the look of shock on his face; she assumed that it was their surroundings; they were surrounded by a field of grass that seemed to go for miles in every direction, except for one lone tree to their far right.

"Well that should make it interesting." Harry noted, and Katniss couldn't help but comment on his level of density.

"What an astute observation, captain-of-the-obvious."

"Hey. No need to be hatin'." He said pointedly, and she rolled her eyes, how would they ever convince anyone that they loved each other?

"I thought you loved me?" she jabbed playfully, hinting to him that they needed everyone to know that they really did love each other. Not. The serious look she got from Harry was not what she expected though.

She really hated how he seemed like he owned every situation, how even though he was almost six inches shorter than her he could look down at her; he always made her feel small, like he was in charge and he knew it.

"I do love you, I have since you took me in; you saved me Katniss and that doesn't seem to mean much to you, because you just don't get it. In district twelve almost nobody stands up for anyone, and if they do, they won't let anyone know they did it." He paused to take notice of her puzzled expression.

"Yeah Katniss, other people look out for you, not me, not Gale. But I can't tell you because he's afraid to say anything because you don't even know he exists." She opened her mouth to argue, that she probably did know him, but Harry raised a single finger to her lips,

"And Katniss, that's because you're one of them; and I can't change that. Nobody can, no one except you." Harry turned on his heels and walked towards the general direction of the cornucopia, not wasting any time to explain what he just said.

Fury bubbled up within Katniss, her stomach actually burned; her tongue felt like it was swelling with hateful insults she didn't dare shout at his retreating back. It would be tacky. Silently fuming she trudged behind Harry, her feet stomping with every marching step. Even though she would never admit it to anyone else, there was something else there too, something like admiration.

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><p>There had actually been quite a few supplies at the cornucopia; they figured Cato had already taken his pick because the majority of big weapons were gone. There was a meager supply of knives, enough food to last the two of them for a week at least, bow and arrows, three spears, and one long thin sword. Not very impressive, but it would do for their purposes.<p>

Harry picked up the stiletto like sword and started tossing it between his hands, thrusting it into the air directly in-between the ribs of his imaginary opponent. Making a quick tight circle, he made another thrust and then jumped like someone had gone for his feet.

She had started clapping for his little performance when she saw the quick flash of silver fly across her vision.

"Harry!" her vision started to become distorted, and she felt herself swaying in the nonexistent wind.

She was thrown out of her trance when someone tackled her from behind; she tried to flip the attacker off her, but only resulted in having them land on top of her.

"Cato!" she spat at him, rage flashing in her eyes like strobe lights, flicking between her internal inferno of hate and worry, how could she fight him?

"Hello princess, looks like lover-boy's a little busy." He retorted, flicking his head to the side where Harry was writhing on the ground in pain, the knife just above his knee in the back of his leg. There must have been a poisoned tip on the knife that was the only explanation for the frothing at the mouth.

Katniss hated not knowing what was happening, and she had no explanation for Harry, so she decided to pin all her rage onto Cato; it was of course him who threw the knife.

"What the fuck did you do to him?" she asked, rage shaking her to the core, making her eyes flick in every direction, she only hoped Cato knew the fury she was spewing was aimed at him.

"Oh, looks like little miss innocent isn't quite so innocent." He retorted mockingly, rough finger pads caressing her face. His intense blue eyes searched her face for some emotion other than anger; Seeming satisfied he closed his eyes and leaned his face in close to hers.

She leaned in close enough so that she could feel his breath across her neck, and whispered in his ear, as if to murmur sweet nothings. As if._ Because that would definitely happen._

"Hey, Cato…"

"What Katn-" before he could finish his question she aimed a sharp knee to his crotch, enjoying his sharp intake of breath, and high pitched squeak as he fell onto the ground beside her, throwing up a small cloud of dirt, similar to that of Harry.

"Don't you dare use my name you son of a bitch, you're not my friend." Spitting on the ground just inches in front of his nose; walking so that she could keep an eye on him without looking over her shoulder. She knew better than to turn her back on someone like Cato.

Once she was about a hundred feet away, she remembered Harry, and scanned the ground near Cato frantically; hoping for the form of Harry on the ground, _alive_.

"Harry! Harry!" she waited a few moments before she even considered freaking out, which was a last resort.

"Harry, come one, this isn't funny!" she walked a few yards closer to where she had come from, but all she saw was a slight rustling in the grass, odd, but she had more to worry about.

She heard a scream a little to the left and immediately thought it was Harry, and she started running towards where she had left Cato; expecting to see a dead Harry. _I swear to the heavens above, if he so much as touched a hair on his head…_

Walking faster, Katniss was surprised to see Harry pulling out three short daggers from Cato's back, managing to keep his convulsing to a minimum. _He must've used his magic; there is no way he could've thrown a knife shivering like that._

"Harry!" she shouted, Happy to see him still (somewhat) alive; dropping to the ground beside him, she wrapped her arms around his shuddering form.

"Don't ever do anything like that again!" she scolded, letting tears slip down her face for emphasis; she had not expected his easy, cocky lopsided grin.

"What kill our opponent?" asked oh so innocently, a slight trace of a smirk gracing his features.

"I don't want to have to save you Harry." She said with what she hope was finality, that's obviously not what Harry thought.

"Darling, we've been through this, I'm saving you." He reminded her gently, as if she was a small child, or a damsel in distress; who decided she needed saving?

_Harry did obviously. _A rather dry voice commented in her head, the same voice she swore she didn't hear earlier.

_I don't know who you are, but you aren't welcome in my head!_ She shouted mentally; not only was she not in control of the world around her, but now it seemed the world in her head too.

_Oh please! It's not like you were doing much with it anyway._

_Excuse me? You do not have the right to enter my thoughts, and then comment on my level of density!_

_Of course I do, how else am I supposed to save you?_

_If you haven't noticed, Harry's kind of already got that covered. _

_And who do you think helped him?_

_No._

_That's right. _

_It can't be. _

_Yours truly. _

Katniss refused to believe it, the same annoying voice that was invading her thoughts was also the, the thing saving her!

_Wait, how can I know I can trust what you say I haven't met you, so I don't have anything to go on, so why should I believe you?_

_You don't have to believe me, except for the fact that I'm in Harry's head too. _

_Of course you are, how else would you help him?_

_*chuckle*_

_I didn't know you could laugh in your mind. _

_Well I wasn't laughing, I was chuckling. _

_Whatever. _

Katniss realized that throughout the whole exchange in her mind she had been staring blankly at Harry who was now shouting her name and waving his hands in front of her face, a distraught look dominating his features.

"What? What is it Harry?" She demanded, an annoyed tone slipping into her simple question, she had probably been talking about Harry probably to herself, and she couldn't shake the feeling that her screws had been tighter once…

"Nothing, you just didn't look so good." Rolling her eyes, she made the comment he surely knew he was walking into.

"Thanks Harry, you're a real charmer, going to tell me I have a wonderful personality too?" shaking his head at her stubborn need for sarcasm, he tried his best to ignore her _charming _disposition.

"You know, sarcasm really doesn't become you."

"Oh yeah, why's that?"

"Because it makes you seem like a Slytherin." Katniss made a small mock gasp, undoubtedly believing she had made a harmless comment that Harry had expected.

"Me? A poor little Hufflypuff from district 12?" She made a small pouty face, knowing full well the only one who bought that act was Prim.

Harry snorted at her, _Katniss, a Hufflepuff? Absurd. _

"Katniss, we still have four days, a-"Katniss cut him off with a voice dripping in fear.

"Harry, why didn't we hear a canon?" Harry scrunched up his face and thought about her question for a moment, before he let out a sharp shout of pain. Hopping around on one leg, Harry made his way to Katniss for a support.

Katniss looked down at the slithering form of Cato, who had pulled himself silently from where the pair had left him at the cornucopia. Seeing that he was spent, Katniss picked up the knife he had stabbed Harry in the foot with, sourly noting the edge painted crimson, she dropped the knife and watched as it lodged itself in the base of Cato's head.

Cato thrashed from his nerves for a bit before coming to a slow with a deathly stillness.

"Gross." Harry muttered under his breath, still not comfortable with the fact that the girl he loved had so nonchalantly just killed someone.

"Mmhmmm." Katniss confirmed blocking off her emotions, knowing now was not the time to confront Harry.

* * *

><p>Katniss had spent the rest of the afternoon half dragging half carrying Harry to the tree that lay a half a mile or so away from the cornucopia. Having checked the two wounds he had gotten from Cato, she noticed neither went very deep, just made it hard to walk.<p>

Especially since they were both in his legs; unfortunately they were both in different legs. When she had finally gotten Harry to rest at the base of the tree, Katniss realized that she should probably get the rest of the supplies from the cornucopia and set up some sort of camp.

Even though she and Harry were the only people left in the arena, they had no idea what little tricks the Game makers had up their sleeves. Sprinting through the field of tall grass, Katniss swerved in odd patterns as she attempted to dodge and leap over little holes in the ground.

Reaching the pile of supplies, Katniss started to sort out the things she and Harry could use, and the things that she had no idea about. Finding a thick canvas bag, Katniss stuffed all the food into the large bag and tied the drawstring.

Setting the bag on the ground, Katniss grabbed a smaller bag and filled it with various weapons, ranging from more knives, to large axes, to small four edged miniature saw looking things. Grabbing two small backpacks as well, Katniss grabbed her treasure and headed back to where she had left Harry.

Carrying the two backpacks, one on each shoulder, and carrying the other two bags in her hands, Katniss felt very tired once she had reached their small camp; those bags were heavier than they looked.

Seeing that Harry had fallen asleep while she was away, Katniss first noticed how sweet he looked when he was asleep; which was quickly shoved away when she remembered that they were still in the games, and needed to be constantly vigilant.

Figuring that she could talk to Harry about that problem in the morning, Katniss put the bag of long lasting food beside Harry, while keeping the weapons closer to her. Opening the two backpacks, Katniss almost shouted in excitement when she found a small tent packed into the bag.

Pulling the bag away from Harry, she kicked the bag before jumping back as the pack sprang itself into a comfortable medium sized tent. Opening the other pack, she found a sleeping bag and two inflatable pillows.

Unrolling the sleeping bag inside the tent, she prodded Harry awake enough so that she could pull him into the tent, and eventually the sleeping bag too. Putting the food and weapons in the tent with Harry, Katniss zipped up the tent and climbed the tall sprawling tree to watch as guard.

* * *

><p>Keeping her eyes focused on the gentle swaying of the grass in the brisk evening wind, Katniss stayed alert for any signs of danger. Occasionally off in the distance, she swore that she heard the sound of coyotes, but they were still far off and weren't anything to worry about.<p>

Several times she had seen the grass part, and had been expecting some sort of small beast to come crashing through the tall grass, but was instead rewarded with several small rabbits. Taking them all down easily with the bow and arrows she had recruited from her expedition to the cornucopia.

Roasting the small rabbits, she munched on the fresh meat and saved one for Harry, who was still sleeping. She had checked on him once to make sure he was still breathing, only to find him still safely passed out.

Coming back to her perch on the wide branches, Katniss noted with her sharp hunter vision something coming through the grass that was definitely bigger than her easy picking rabbits.

Seeing the reflective gleaming yellow eyes of the coyotes she had heard earlier, she loaded an arrow into her bow and sent it flying into one of those midnight pelts. Waiting for the beast to fall onto the ground bleeding, she was shocked as the arrow fell from the beast's massive coat, her eyes narrowing at the bent and broken shaft.

"Oh, so that's how you like to play?" she spoke, the smallest trace of fear lacing her words delicately. The small dogs growled at her menacingly in reply, stalking towards her perch in the tree.

_You really got yourself into it this time didn't you?_ The voice!

_Why don't you make yourself useful?_ Katniss spat at the disdainful voice.

_You think I know how to fight these things?_

_That was kind of the point of me asking you._

_Sorry, here's a tissue. _

_I don't see how my death is funny to you!_

_You wouldn't. _

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_Oh, nothing, just that… I don't like you. _

_Damn voice. _

…

_Good riddance! _

_Nah, you'd miss me. _

_Wanna bet?_

…

_Yeah that's what I thought._

* * *

><p><strong>Authors note: so, I like this version much better, what about you? Why don't you leave a review and let me know? Heehee, see you next time, if all goes well I'll be updating again this week :D<strong>

**I also wanted to thank all the people who left reviews and to the 43 people that put the story on their alerts and the**** 34 who put it on favorites! You guys have no idea how nice it feels to go on and see my numbers go up. Well… if you are a fellow author than actually you probably do, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it! Seriously love you guys!**

**I love that thrice damned voice! XD**


	11. I Have My Reasons

**Authors note: hi guys! It's been a while ay? Sorry, don't hate me! This is just sort of a filler because I have no idea what's to happen. So uhm, part of the reason why it took so long is because the characters were being difficult, and I also had to write a story for an anthology, so yay me! Anyway, here is this small little chapter. Oh, and P.S. I re-wrote the last chapter, so if you haven't read it, go do that. And sorry for mistakes, just wanted to get this out, and it's at Hpgwarts. **

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><p>Hermione grabbed three slim volumes off the thick wooden bookshelf, adding them to her large stack of books that she had accumulated, the tall pile swaying slightly as she tried to see past the books to make her way back to the table she was working at. Dropping the varying volumes on the thin wooden table, Hermione felt a rush of satisfaction at the resonating thump that the books made as their covers slammed into the table.<p>

Flopping down into a worn red leather chair, Hermione shot a glance at the grumbling ginger's that sat across from Hermione, if Ron hated homework Ginny hated it ten times as much. Having given the two their own smaller stack of books to look through, Hermione was positive that if the pair across the table were to take things seriously, they would be able to find what they were looking for.

"Mioooneee! Do we have to do this now?" Ron grumbled from behind his thick brown copy of, "Where to go Looking for Lost Wizards", (Hermione often wondered how these authors in the Wizarding World made any money with awful titles like that). Slowly lowering the book she had just picked up off of her pile and glared at Ron, a glare that to anyone else besides the dim-witted ginger Gryffindor would have sent screaming to be sent home.

"Ron." Hermione started, and a part of her started dancing on the inside as she watched the mop of fiery red hair start to slowly lower; the amount of ice in her voice enough to freeze hell over, battling with the flames that danced in her chocolate eyes.

"Harry Potter is no longer the 'Boy-Who-Lived', he is now currently the 'Boy-Who-Is-Missing-And-You-Aren't-Helping-With-Your-Selfcentered-Attitude! NOW IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO HELPING MY FRIEND!" Hermione's words had the desired effect as she watched Ron pick up the book he had foolishly lowered.

Eyes flicking over to Ginny, Hermione-the-bushy-haired-menace saw that the younger of the Weasly's had also gone back to her diligent searching. Leaning back into her chair, Hermione brought her book closet to her face where she could closely inspect the headache inducing runes, when she was interrupted by a sarcastic, arrogant throat clearing.

Grinding her teeth, Hermione didn't bother lowering her book, hoping that for his own sake the nosy Slytherin would be able to see himself away. When it was clear by the lack of footsteps that the blond ignoramus wasn't going anywhere, Hermione sighed and lowered her book, directing another glare at the ridiculous smirking fiend before her.

"What in the name of Merlin's receding hairline, do you want Mr. Malfoy?" the peeved the Gryffindor asked snippily, she was already pissed and in no mood for the annoying little taunts of a rich daddy's boy.

Smirking in a knowing way, the skinny blonde let his elbows rest on the arm of Hermione's chair and smiled deviously as Hermione narrowed her eyes at the odd behavior.

"Sooo…still looking for the 'Boy-Who-Finally-Died'?" Malfoy asked smoothly, well as smoothly as he could without laughing, it was just so hard, the poor mudblood was trying soo hard; and to think Draco could probably put her mind at ease. Too bad Draco didn't like Gryffindors.

Rage boiled inside Hermione, an angry tsunami of pure hatred, God it felt good to hate someone. Smiling to herself, Hermione chuckled at the flash of confusion that passed over the pale features of Draco Malfoy, if only for a second.

Shoving back in her chair, Hermione watched as the Ferret lost his balance and fell to the floor, standing up abruptly, Hermione aimed a sharp kick to the tangle of limbs that lay in front of her; leaning over she quickly grabbed her books and rushed away from the cheers from the two Weasly's she had left behind.

Quickly telling Madame Pince that she would be borrowing the books she held in her arms over her shoulder, she ignored the shouts that told her she had to check them out, Hermione rushed towards the Room of Requirement, it was too loud in the common room and she didn't want to hide outside where just anyone could find her.

Draco lay on the ground of the library, pain blooming in his abdomen where the small bushy haired girl had kicked him, holding onto the part of his torso that he was sure was already bruised; Draco couldn't help but admire the way in which the Gryffindor had played things. He really should have seen it coming, _done like a true Slytherin._

Sighing, the blonde aristocrat pulled himself off the thickly carpeted floor and headed in the direction of the room of requirement, he sometimes went there to think. Thinking of a 'quiet place', he opened the heavy wooden door that led to his temporary safe haven.

Closing the door behind him, he barely heard the high-pitched squeak over the heavy thud of the door closing. Slowly turning around, Draco jumped at the sight of a blushing Gryffindor. Running a hand through his hair, Draco sighed and walked towards one of the navy blues sofas and plopped onto the sofa opposite the still rapidly blushing girl.

Raising an eyebrow, Draco couldn't help but comment on the girls odd state, what was she so worked up about?

"Granger, you better stop that ridiculous blushing, or are you having a competition for Weasly's first place?" Grangers eyes narrowed at the boy and the brilliant red that had been consuming her face just a moment ago quickly dropped like the temperature of her tolerance.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Granger spat at the now smirking blonde, his icy grey eyes slicing through her peaceful mood. Leaning so that his sharp elbows rested on his knees, Draco relaxed his face on the bumpy ridge of his knuckles.

"How about," Draco started, letting the smooth charming voice he often heard his father use when talking business trickle into his usually irritating tone. Hermione bristled as Draco let his words hang in the air, just like he knew she would, Granger hated being left guessing, no matter how good she was at it.

"WHAT, Malfoy?" smirking lightly, Draco let his eyes that had momentarily trail downwards flick up to meet the mudbloods smoldering stare.

"How about you and I make a deal?" Draco suggested, and as the bushy haired girl across from him narrowed her eyes, Draco knew that she had already caught on that he wasn't asking. Shaking her head, the Gryffindor stood up, and Draco thought quickly of what he could do to salvage the quickly down-spiraling situation.

"Hermione, wait." Grabbing Grangers wrist as she spun around at the use of her actual name, Hermione tried to pull her wrist that had been trapped in the surprising grip of the blond aristocrat.

"I'm warning you Malfoy, let go of me or I swear." Letting icy malice drip off her every word, Hermione felt her fury grow as she didn't get anything out of the blond, not even a flinch.

"Oh please, you think you could possibly measure up to my father? All I was suggesting was that I help you look for your precious Potter." The way the Ferret spat out her friends name, Hermione had a hard time believing that anything he had just said held anything true.

"Oh, and what's in it for you?" Hermione asked, Malfoy _was_ a Slytherin, and why would a Snake help someone without getting something in return?

"For me? Let's just say I have my reasons." Narrowing her eyes, Hermione brushed back a lock of thick bushy hair and extended a hand, if someone was actually _willing_ to help her, she would find Harry that much sooner.

"Then you have yourself a deal." Turning away, Hermione couldn't have known that Draco had smiled at her as she walked away, or heard the quiet 'Thank you' that escaped Draco's unaware lips before falling into a tear-stained pile of relief.

She couldn't have known any of that.

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><p><strong>AN: well, that took waaaay too long, but I did it, yay! Looked back after not reading the first part of this chapter and all I thought was, "I'm so entertaining." That's actually how one of my friends describe me, there was a picture or something and it said;**

**I talk to myself, and then I start laughing, because I'm just so hysterical. :D hope you don't hate me too horribly much! **


	12. Blaze the Evil Dictator

**Authors note. I left you in a weird place with Katniss and Harry, and it's going to stay that way until I explain what was going on at Hogwarts; which is what the next couple of chapters will be about. Also, a reviewer asked what was up with Malfoy? You shall see, he is here for a reason, and it definitely isn't out of the kindness of his heart, now let us leave it at that. On with the story! **

~Hermione~

Hermione burst the portrait leading to the Gryffindor common room, her bushy brown hair in a wild mess about her face from running up all the staircases to make sure they didn't move before she got to her destination.

Ignoring the confused stares, Hermione raced through the common room up to the girls dormitory, going immediately to the stack of books beside her bed. Skimming the titles of the books on their spines, Hermione shook her head in frustration.

"I know I saw it around here somewhere." She murmured to herself darkly, shooting up from off the floor and went to her trunk, flipping open the lid, she cringed at the sound the metal bars of her bed made as the iron on her trunk clanged against them. Adjusting her weight between her feet, Hermione felt the balls of her feet begun to ache the longer she rummaged through the various titles.

Letting her index finger drift over the brightly colored spines of her large collection of books, Hermione stopped with a pleased smile gracing her features, the book Malfoy claimed would help them, her, on the search for Harry.

She didn't really understand why, or how specifically the book would help, she had read it a dozen times and nothing she remembered would help; but she would never admit that to Malfoy. That was one of her true great flaws, her pride. Maybe it was a Gryffindor thing, but that wouldn't explain the Slytherin's need to always show off their ridiculously large egos; or perhaps they truly thought that highly of themselves? How sickening.

Sliding the slim volume from the stack, somehow managing to keep the whole leaning tower from becoming out of line, Hermione flicked the lid down, the hinges going down easier than when it opened.

Smoothing down her bushy brown hair, Hermione tucked the book under her arm and took long quick strides towards the door leading to the common room when a shrill voice sounded behind her. _Oh dear Merlin, please don't let me die after this conversation, I still haven't read all of the books in the library._

"Well that isn't a very nice way to say hello, Granger." Hermione whirled on her heels as she realized she had spoken her prayer aloud. The voice of one Lavender Brown continued to chip away at Hermione's soul as a cheese grater for some fancy cheese not even Hermione could pronounce, on a salad no one ordered. What a waste.

"Yes, Lavender; what is it you could possibly want from me?" Hermione emphasized heavily on the words she knew would manipulate the rather dim-witted girl in front of her she was shamed to call one of her house-mates. Females like this were easily manipulated, especially ones that had delusions of grandeur. Perhaps she wasn't being fair and overly critical, but she had work to do and she most certainly did NOT appreciate someone stopping her. Did they not understand that Harry was _missing_?

He, the-boy-who-lived and nobody seemed to give a shit that he was gone, the only person who could save them; how utterly depressing. Returning her thoughts to the poorly dressed female across from her, Hermione caught the last end of what she was saying.

"-so basically, since you're working with Draco now, you'll need to look your best, I mean do you really expect him to work with someone so drab looking?" Smirking, Hermione laughed internally as Brown was caught off guard from the expression she didn't usually sport.

"Funny, I was going to say the same to you." Pivoting back to face the door, Hermione called over her shoulder, "Now if you don't mind, or do, I have work to do that doesn't concern you." Hearing an angry huff from behind her, Hermione didn't expect the invisible wall that blocked her from leaving the dormitory.

"I really didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice Granger, we ARE doing this MY way, but you don't have to like it, so don't worry about that." Turning around, once more, Hermione thought she was going to get a headache from the fast paced flipping and rotated slowly on the balls of her feet; her eyes slipping over the devilish expression of the fashion obsessed witch, gently tapping the point of her wand on the heel of her palm.

"Now…where to start?"

~DRACO~

Tapping his long fingers on the black leather of one of the many plush armchairs that decorated the Slytherin common room; Blaize lounging comfortably beside him, sighing on the occasion to show his boredom with the situation, Draco smacked him on the arm, tired of his non-verbal whining.

"OW. Well you're not very nice, are you?" Blaize complained, rubbing his arm where Draco had slapped him, a slightly wounded expression creasing his usually laid back and easy going face; Draco's however lit up with one of the most dazzling smiles he had, usually saved for charming helpless girls into his bidding.

"Now, now Draco; you know those faces doesn't work on me." Turning up a notch on his face, Draco let the dimples very few people knew he had show, he had spent many hours, and quite a bit of magic to train his face not to let them show, but they usually did the trick for tough cases like Blaize.

Watching his friend crumble into submission, Draco let his usual smirk grace his features, knowing full well he already had Blaize, and it would just further piss him off that he knew it; hence why he did it.

"You really are an asshole, aren't you Draco?"

"I never claimed to be anything but."

"I could come up with a good argument to prove you wrong, but something tells me it would be a waste of time and breath."

"And you would be guessing right." Sighing dramatically enough for Draco to wait for him to throw his arm over his forehead, Blaize trudged forward in the already won battle.

"What is it that you wanted anyway?"

"Ah, so we've gotten to the bottom of the mystery."

"What are you on about now?"

"Another question I see."

"WELL. There wouldn't be another one, IF YOU HAD JUST ANSWERED THE FIRST ONE TO BEGIN WITH!"

"Temper, temper Blaze, I'll tell you what you wish to know."

"Well then do it already."

"That's what she said."

"GAAAH! NOW IS **NOT** THE TIME TO BE THE CREEPY PERVERT EVERYONE KNOWS YOU ARE."

"Blaze, I'm hurt, I was just trying to help."

"By making pervy jokes? I don't think so, and anyway, _I'm_ helping _you_! Not the other way around."

"Whatever you say Blaze."

"EXACTLY. Whatever _I_ say."

"Gosh, Blaze; you really do sound like an evil dictator when you're mad, guess I owe Pansy ten galleons now. This is your fault you know, if you were a better person, I wouldn't have lost that bet."

"WHA? How can you pin that on me? If YOU were a better person, you wouldn't have made careless bets on your best mates."

"O, woe is me; my 'best mate' the evil dictator is telling me I'm a horrible person, and here I was under the impression that we were 'best mates'. I knew you were just friends with me for the money." Throwing an arm over his face, Draco tossed his body back onto his armchair, enjoying the eye roll he had worked so hard to conjure from Blaize.

"In case you've forgotten, I have just as much money as you do. Which I'll wager is just about none considering that it's all inherited from dear sweet Daddy."

"Then you're my best mate for the fame and shear amount of fangirls that the Malfoy and Slytherin titles represent."

"Because I of course want to be friends with the one man who has earned the name 'The Slytherin Prince of Pricks', yes of course that's it."

"I always knew it."

"Now that you're finished with your mellow drama, will you tell me what 'evil' plan you're dragging me into now?"

"It's hardly evil." Blaize threw a pointed look at Draco as if to say, _you're-a-Slytherin-when-aren't-we-evil? _

"Ineedyoutobemywingman."

"Again?"

"Yes, but, this will be considerably more difficult."

"Why would that be?" Blaize asked, he wasn't particularly fond of the memories he bore of the last time he was wingman for the blonde menace, nor the scars.

"Because…well let's just say that our target is a little out of reach."

"No one's out of your reach though mate, your words." Cringing slightly Draco threw a meaningful glance at his newly remade second in command.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"Please, I beg to Merlin you're just joking, please tell me you're kidding!"

"Sorry mate, I hate to do this to you." Getting up on his feet, Draco patted his friends shoulder before exiting the common room, letting the horrified Italian stew over the pot of deep shit he had just gotten himself into.

Dropping his head into his hands, Blaize sighed and said to no one in particular,

"I'm screwed."

"I could help you with that if you like."

"SHUT UP NOTT!"

"God, Pansy was right, you really are evil, now I owe her ten galleons, thanks mate."

**Authors Note: well, sorry for the short length, but something is better than nothing right? Heehee, so now that you are awaiting what happens to our lovely leads, I shall start setting up the next chapter! XD Please review, lets me know you're still reading. **


	13. I'm Really Sorry! :'C

I'M SO SORRY!

Yeah, I know that's not a particularly great way to start this, but I really am guys, fft, I don't know if any of you even remember this story, but I figure that if any of you are still wondering, I DID have a chapter that was supposed to be up a couple weeks ago, but my computer that has all my writing on it decided to throw a tantrum and wouldn't turn on TTATT This is me, saying that this is ridiculous that it hasn't been updated in who knows how long. I really hope to have a chapter up soon, and hopefully better than I was before, no promises though. W

I hope you wonderful people can be so understanding as to the ways of grumpy technology, sincerest regards,

JTN


	14. Outside Forces

**Authors Note: yay! Next chapter and my 'E' button keeps getting stuck…GREAAAAT. TAT anyway, we is still at Hogwarts, because well…Hermione is going to be attacked by several odd devices, one of which I think is called an eyelash curler. Those things are scary looking. Poor Blaze. :] ** **On we go.**

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><p>~Hermione~<p>

Pulling out her wand, Hermione glared at the witch she had every intention of defeating. Thinking of a few spells she had been waiting to test out, Hermione felt all the air in her lungs whoosh out of her chest as several bodies jumped her from behind and tackled her to the ground.

"Tut, tut, tut Hermione I expected you to be smarter than that. It's not every day we get to do the most challenging makeover of the century."

"If I disliked you before, I apologize. I should have shown all the hate I could when I had the chance."

Giggles erupted all around her, and she couldn't even hex the stupid harpy's, how did she let herself get into this situation? It didn't matter; the real question was how was she going to get back out?

"Oh I wouldn't worry about trying to escape, because you won't."

"We'll see about that." Wriggling underneath the massive dog pile of bodies that were gathered over her, Hermione tried to reach for her wand only to have her hands grabbed, and being dragged by her wrists out of the trap she had just been in.

"I'd say thank you, but considering the fact that these rug burns are your fault I don't think you deserve my gratitude."

"Oh, but I will Hermione, see; we all know you like him." A furious blush splat across Hermione's face as if someone had thrown a giant ripe tomato at her head.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, no boy is worthy of my affections."

"Oh, I sure at least ONE of them is." Lavender giggled and Hermione swore she had never heard anything sound so sinister in her life.

"Seeing as that I probably won't escape this, what **exactly** do you plan on doing?" Lavender reached her arm out and put a firm hand on the smaller girl shoulder, giving what Hermione assumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry; we're just going to help you." With that said, Lavender guided Hermione to a couch in front of the fireplace, and with a swift push, shoved the bushy haired Gryffindor into swirling purple flames.

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><p>~Draco~<p>

Draco walked through the freezing stone corridors of the dungeons that Slytherin house had claimed, in search of something to distract the wild thoughts that were running through his mind.

_How would he and Blaze pull it off? He'd been missing for months now, would they even be able to find him? What If he __**did**__ find him, surely he would be turned down and the effort would be for not? _

The blonde shook his head of the thoughts that bogged his spirits down, instead trying to think of a place that could help him think of a plan. The forbidden forest was, well, forbidden and not to mention full of creepy things that would like nothing more than to eat him. _So that would be a no. _

Outside looked damp, and though he was a snake, Draco didn't think that cold would help him think, maybe help him fall asleep though. Library? _No, beaver's bound to be there. _Unable to think of anything else because he was a highly unimaginative Slytherin, Draco headed to the great hall to wait for an epiphany.

Tapping his fingers on the scratched wooden table, Draco read the long list of names that had been carved into the ancient wood over centuries; nothing coming to mind for a good plan. Pushing off with his arms, Draco launched himself onto the table so he could rest his feet on the bench instead of the floor.

Several Hufflepuffs were studying across the hall and Draco took to glaring at them to see if he could make them move. The one on the left, a small mousy haired girl started cowering while the ginger boy beside her flipped Draco the bird while reading his books, not bothering to look at the enraged Slytherin.

Jumping off the table, the peeved Blonde took long quick strides across the hall towards the brave albeit naïve badger, thinking of all sorts of nasty things to do to the pesky ginger. Reaching the black and yellow covered table, Draco jumped onto the table so that the red headed third year looking student would have no choice but to look at him.

Unfortunately this plan didn't work as the nameless ginger Draco decided to name Weasley-wannabe (or WW) didn't even flinch, but moved his books slightly to the left of Draco's feet.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"

"Oh yes, I know all about you Malfoy."

"That's Mr. Malfoy to you."

"Actually you aren't anything to me so I don't see why it matters what I call you."

"I'll-"

"I wouldn't bother telling Daddy seeing as you won't be able to find me on your records."

"Why you little-"

"I also wouldn't say anything you might regret, after all, I came all this way to _help_ you, I think you ought to be thanking me."

"What exactly are you helping me with?"

"Well see, I find people, and rumor has it that you have a very special someone that you need to find."

"Well I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's just fine because I do."

"How would you be able to find him anyway?" The question was more of an accusation than a question, but Draco was serious and didn't need anybody to screw around with him and get him off track.

"Follow me." WW stepped out of the bench and Draco was surprised to see that he stood at least a foot taller than Draco himself did. Shoulders pulled back and a book under his arms, the no-doubt book worm badger was probably the equivalent of a Hufflepuff Granger.

Who was this strange student, and why had Draco never seen him around before; with the way he loomed over everyone, you'd think that Draco would have noticed him. Stepping into the boys back as he made a sudden stop, Draco shook his head to clear the blush from his cheeks.

"Oi, a warning would be nice!"

"You wouldn't need one if you were actually paying attention, and I think you'll find that it was YOU who walked into ME, not the other way around."

"Who are you to go around making demands?"

"I could ask you the same thing, daddy's boy."

"Why you-"

"I'm helping you, remember that." Grumbling to himself, Draco stood behind the taller boy and tried to figure out what in the world was he doing to the wall?  
>"Don't worry about it Malfoy, you probably wouldn't understand even if I told you."<p>

"Are you calling me dense?"

"I do believe so, but if you'd like to check that's fine."

"You know what? You really piss me off."

"As much as Miss Granger?"

"Why do you call HER Miss?"

"Do you want me to call YOU Miss?"

"That's not what I meant you git!"

"If you're sure Miss."

"ARGH!"

Stones in the wall began to fall out revealing a swirling yellow hole, just sort of hanging out.

"Hello Steve, can you direct me to Miss Anna?" A deep scratchy voice answered back from the foggy yellow mass, scaring Draco so much he shrieked.

"Sure thing."

"Sorry about Malfoy."

"It's okay, most newbies are like that."

"Sad world we live in."

"DO YOU GUYS MIND? I thought we were in the middle of something?"

"Right, okay, so Steve, get Anna for me?"

"Sorry, I'll get right on that."

"What the hell was that?"

"It was Steve, who else?"

"Well I don't know, you just say you're going to help me and then some bricks fall out of the wall and you start talking to a hole? What the hell?" A head came out of the oddly colored fog and smiled brightly at the two teens.

"Heyyyyy, what you need?" Draco gaped at the face in the wall, he'd seen weirder things so he really shouldn't be that upset, but the whole situation was just….ridiculous.

"Alright, so you know the situation on 324?"

"Yeah, I wish there was something we could do about it…"

"Alright, well subject fourteen is calling for a help line and it just so happens that Subject 7 is being dealt with as we speak."

"Well that's just dandy!"

"Bloody hell you two, what the fuck are you even talking about?"

"Classified."  
>"Then why am I here?"<br>"We need you to go find Harry, say what you need to say, and then maybe see what happens."

"Well genius's, I hate to break it to you, but that was sort of already my plan."

"The thing is, you're going about it in all the wrong ways."

"Well thanks, plan to help me in any way besides telling me what I'm doing wrong?"

"Where do you think Harry is?"

"Well he's not here."

"Correct."

"So it's not likely he's in the country."

"Correct."

"Or in this world..?"

"CORRECT!"

"THEN WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"

"Ask your dad."

"Why would he know?"

"Hm, better if you just ask him."

"FINE, I'LL ASK MY DAD."

"I wouldn't ask it like that, he might not cooperate."

"ARGH!"

"Alright, go see Miss Granger, I have a feeling she's ready to see you."

"Whatever, as long as I get away from you freaks!"

"G'bye Miss!"

* * *

><p>Storming away from the two people who smiled bemusedly at his retreating figure, Draco planned his path to the Gryffindor common rooms.<p>

Luck was on his side as all the staircases had moved already, so he easily raced up the stairs to the portrait of the fat lady, she really could make more of an effort to her appearance; that dress did nothing for her figure.

"Password."

"Do I look like I'd know the password?"

"That's not my problem."

"Purple flying pocket whizbey's." The portrait swung open on its hinges and hit Draco on the side of the face; biting his lip in frustration, the Slytherin was caught between rage at the way he was being treated today and amusement from the sheer stupidity of the Gryffindor password.

He WAS just guessing after all…

Stepping into the common room, Draco's eyes immediately enlarged to take up half his face as he took in his surroundings.

Clothes littered the floor and shoes cluttered every cushion of the hideous red couches that filled the room. Sparkles seemed to float around in the air more abundant than dust and the smell of hairspray cut about half the oxygen in the room.

Falling into a chair choking on makeup dust and hairspray, Draco tried to clear his vision of glitter and the overwhelming red of the room.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm dying…"

"One less Slytherin to worry about."

"That is just cold."

"Psht, like they wouldn't say the same thing."

"True."

Draco reached out to the disembodied voices in search of some willful soul, just for a glass of water.

"Hellllllp." Someone poked Draco in the side with something, and he heard squeals as a group of girls made their way into the room.

"Lavender, I thought I told you not to leave your shit in the commons during your stupid makeovers?"  
>"Not enough because I still don't care." Another voice squealed to Brown in the way she and her posse always seemed to communicate.<p>

"LOOOK! He's right there, this is so much easier now." Draco swore he heard someone groan in the background. _I completely agree. _

"Why are his eyes closed?"

"Probably passed out from the fumes."

"Shut UP Ron."

Sliding his eyes open, Draco immediately squeezed his eyes shut so that he could pretend he hadn't just seen what he'd though he'd seen.

Hands grabbed his wrists and pulled him off the couch and dragged him onto his feet.

"Look Draco, doesn't she look pretty?"

Draco looked sideways at the once bushy haired Gryffindor like he was staring at the sun, one eye not even looking and one half shut.

"Oh bloody hell, you ridiculous Gryffindor's."

"You don't like it?"

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><p><strong>Authors note: wow you guys, it's been way too long, ne? haha, sorry if you were expecting something spectacular and amazingly well written, but it's still just me…sorry. I really didn't mean for it to take this long to update, but I got addicted to Hetalia…if you've seen the show, you probably understand. ;U; I love it so much. anyway, WHY YOU PEOPLE KEEP FAVORITING THIS STORY?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW YOU FIND IT. I'm not complaining, don't think that…but, it's just, you're all so nice! Love all you lovelies! <strong>


	15. You're all a bunch of wankers

**A/N: what am I even doing? I'm sorry, it's been two months you guys, my O key is being a butt-wrench and decided it wants to not work properly, and I'm stillllllll addicted to Hetalia, in fact, I think it got worse. ( ._.) yeah…got my Sweden cosplay almost perfect though. 8D So, back to the story, anyway, I'm sort of making this up as I go along, so if ANY of you, have ANY suggestions, ANYTHING AT ALL, tell me; because otherwise, get ready for some interesting stuff. And improbable, and what-the-hell-is-this kind of stuff. It's gonna be fun.**

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><p>~Hermione~<p>

"I don't think I've ever been more ashamed to belong to this house since I met you Draco." The enraged bookworm muttered as she rested her head in her hands.

"I don't think I've ever felt bad for anyone. Ever. Accept now that is, because let me say Granger, you look-"

"She looks beautiful, doesn't she?" Brown flitted around Hermione, and she swore if the pesky girl didn't get the hell away she was going to shank her with her own heels.

Taking inventory of what she was wearing, Hermione felt a heat sweep across her face, and it was bad enough Ron had witnessed this, but now Draco too? This day couldn't possibly get any worse.

Her wild hair had somehow managed to be tamed by various concoctions of sprays, creams and spells, and then tousled to perfection. Her make up felt like she had rubbed mud all over her face, itching and making her tear up. The skirt she was currently thinking of the best way to burn was too short for anyone, even Browns shortest skirt was at least an inch longer.

But the shoes. The shoes were possibly the worst part of the whole ensemble. Five inches of pure I'm-going-to-trip-you-on-the-stairs-but-at-least-you'll-look-nice-when-you-break-you're-neck. This really was a plan of her demise.

"Look, Brown, I'm not sure where you were going with this, but I'm going to change now."

"For once, I actually agree with you." Draco agreed, an amused look Hermione couldn't help but blush at changing his usually snarky expression into something more…cute?

_No, there's nothing "cute" about Malfoy. _ Hermione thought to herself, she wasn't sure exactly WHAT was in that hairspray Lavender had sprayed her with but she was betting there was at least one spell in there that affected her mood. Had to, she hadn't felt this pissy in months.

Stripping off the whole ridiculous outfit, Hermione slipped into her more comfortable pajamas, she was in her common room, she was gonna wear something she deemed worthy, not this stiletto nonsense.

Shoving her feet into her fluffy slippers, Hermione shuffled back into the common room where Draco had passed out.

"I wasn't gone that long…" she muttered to herself as she stepped over the various articles of clothing that had yet to be moved. Kicking Malfoy in the shin proved futile and the Gryffindor huffed in frustration. Running to the bathroom she filled a glass with ice cold water and went behind the Slytherins chair before floating the cup in front of him.

Using her wand to direct the cup, she held it over his face before dumping it on his sleeping form. Releasing the spell so that the glass dropped into his lap, Hermione dropped to the floor as the snake spluttered awake.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" the pompous male raged, who dare treat him this way in his own common room? Oh wait, he wasn't in his common room; DAMNIT HOW COULD HE LET HIMSELF FALL ASLEEP IN THE COMMON ROOM OF THE ENEMY? He quickly whispered a spell to dry himself off and ran his fingers through his hair to get it back into something somewhat presentable.

Looking around for whoever was brave enough to prank him like this, he saw Weasly snickering in the corner, but there was no way he was intelligent enough to think of it.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I was you Weasel, I know where you keep all your dirty videos, I mean, whoa, muggles have really weird kinks. Li-" he was cut off as the blushing Gryffindor leaped across the room and clamped his mouth shut. Kneeing the boy in the gut, Draco stood up and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Ron, he really was an idiot.

Hermione crawled out from behind the chair and stood up, flattening out her clothes she coughed to catch his attention.

"Now that you're awake, do you mind telling me why you're here?" Draco turned and glared at her, he had a hunch as to who dumped that water on him.

"I need you to help me with something."

"Oh, so you think you can just barge in here and make demands?"

"Uhm, I'm sorry, am I the only one here who wants to help Harry?" Ron scoffed from his spot on the floor, a SLYTHERIN claims to care about Harry more than him? As if.

"You could have just said that, what do you need?"

"You and I are going on a trip, we'll be back soon don't worry about it." Hermione blushed at the thought, why would Draco want to go anywhere with her? and what did he mean by soon? A couple of hours, a day, what? Because she had some serious work to do on her transfiguration essay and it wasn't going to do it itself.

"OH, WOULD YOU STOP WORRYING ABOUT HOMEWORK, THIS IS FOR HARRY." Draco roared, he would think that the self-sacrificing house of Gryffindor would be eager to help their fallen house mate, maybe they weren't any better than Slytherins after all.

Hermione was speechless by this outburst, she knew Slytherins liked it their way, but honestly, why did he care so much about a boy he claimed to hate?

"Malfoy, why the bloody hell are you so worked up about this? It's not like his life is in danger or anything."

"Oh? And how would you know, Miss, I-care-more-about-school-work-than-my-best-friend?"

"How dare you accuse me of that? Of course I care about Harry!"

"Did I say you didn't?"

"…"

"Yeah, that's what I thought, we'll be going now." the blond grabbed onto Hermione by her wrist and she didn't even have time to complain about how tight his grip was before he had her out the portrait hole and dragging her down the staircases.

* * *

><p>"MALFOY, I'M NOT PROPERLY DRESSED FOR THIS." The blond rolled his eyes at her silliness, she would look the same way to father as if she had put her life savings into her attire; albeit not that much but still.<p>

"You can get something later, we have to go get someone before we head out." pulling her down the many flights of stairs to the main floor, he cut through empty hallways and down past the dungeons, past the kitchens and in front of a huge stone archway.

"Malfoy, why are we here?"

"That is for me to know and you to find out." whispering something under his breath, he kicked the thick wooden door inwards and tossed Hermione through the hole.

"Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Hermione yelped as she fell onto the ground in an undignified heap.

Looking at her surroundings, Hermione's eyes went wide as she tried to process just how much shit she was in for. Huge tapestries that went from the ceiling to the floor depicted images of dark victory, the stone floors were carpeted with plush carpets that squished under her feet and floor to ceiling windows made up the entire west wall.

Black leather chairs were spread in front of a green fire that roared at her unwelcome presence and several sneers were aimed in her direction, as well as a few wands. By far, the most glorious sight was a tapestry that hung above the fireplace, a wizard stood with his arms open, a staff in one hand and the other crackling with pure magical energy. As much as she had to admit it, Merlin was a great wizard, the fact that he belonged to the Slytherin house was a smack in the face to her Gryffindor pride.

Draco sauntered into the room like he owned the place, although, in a way he sort of did, he was on home territory here. Her skin prickled at the chilly atmosphere as she suddenly figured out what all of this meant.

"A lion thrown into the snake pit, eh?" A certain dark haired Slytherin observed as he toed Hermione with his expensive leather shoes.

"Well, book worms got to be good for something, right Blaze?" Hermione stood up and brushed herself off, even though there was no need; the floors were ridiculously clean.

"Please don't talk about me like I can't hear you."

"She's a feisty one, although, you're gonna need that."

"You too mate, don't forget that you said you're coming with us."

"Oh, come on, you've got a Gryffindor; what else could you possibly need?"

"Yeah Malfoy, I'd rather not put up with yet another Slytherin if I don't have to." A wand mysteriously ended up around her throat as a high pitched voice whispered venomously in her ear,

"I wouldn't be talking that way if I were you, looks to me like you don't have many friends here, and I don't think Draco's gonna stick up for you when push comes to shove."

"Oi, lay off it Pansy, she's clearly claimed territory." Hermione blushed at Nott's accusation, did Malfoy think of her like that?

"Nott, do yourself a favor and shut up."

"What? You know I'm right, Slytherins don't just LET other people in here." Nott pointed out to the inferior Blaze Zabini, he didn't care if they were "friends", Zabini was still a prick.

"Yes, I threw her in so she was on the ground, right where she belongs. Everyone must know their place."

"Sounds kinky Draco." Pansy purred at the disgusted blond, and Hermione covered her blushing face with her hand, was there no end to the innuendos?

"Pansy, will you hitting on me, you know I don't like you and I never will." Whistles sounded around the room at the blunt burn and Pansy pouted as Draco flipped everyone else off, he had more dirt on everyone in this room than professor Sprout had in all of her Greenhouses combined; and he made sure everyone knew it too.

"But Drakyyyyy!" Malfoy grabbed Pansy by the shoulders and glared at her with a stare so intense Hermione was waiting for the girl to catch on fire, but these were Slytherins, this was how they showed affection.

"Pansy, I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything for you." Malfoy grimaced at the girls sugar coated voice, this was went against everything he was told growing up, never leave yourself in debt to ANYONE.

"I need you to lend me some clothes." Blaze snickered behind him while Pansy raised an eyebrow at him before looking him up and down before shrugging.

"I don't think we're the same size Draco, but is that's what you want."

"Not for me, for her." Draco retorted, motioning vaguely towards the Gryffindor who rolled her eyes.

"I don't need to borrow clothes, I'm fine." Pansy looked at her and burst out in her shrill laughter.

"Oh, believe me, you do. Slytherins trump Gryffindor fashion sense any day of the week and you are not going to leave this common room until you are at least half decent." Pansy clamp a surprisingly strong hand around Hermiones wrist and for the second time that night she was sure it was going to break.

"What is it with all of you, do you think people are incapable of walking by themselves?" Hermione shouted at the shorter girl, she was tired of being dragged around this whole damn school like some sort of lost little kid that needed help finding her mom.

"Hermione, dear, I hate to break it to you, but you are in _our_ territory; you follow our rules and you don't get hurt. Now I know it's the whole Gryffindor thing to do as you please and be the brave hero, but for once in your life get your pride in check and let those who know what's best do their job." Pansy nodded in approval as Hermiones eyes went wide and she followed after the dark haired girl in confusion.

Slytherins were such impossible creatures, they were supposed to be bloodthirsty power hungry, manipulative evildoers; not this rational well-spoken person! Okay, rationally she knew that was ridiculous and that it was wrong to judge people based on what house they came from, I mean, look a Peter Pettigrew; that was just an embarrassment.

On the other hand, how dare she be shown up by this shrill Slytherin Princess? She may be a Gryffindor, but she could certainly handle herself just fine.

"Excuse me, but why do you even care? It's not like Harry's your friend, and Drco doesn't seem to care for you, so why are you helping him?"

"Granger, I don't know how it works with Gryffindor's, if you only help each other when there's something in it for you; but in Slytherin, we're a family." Pansy's expression screamed of distaste, and Hermione had never felt worse, of course she wanted to help Harry, why else would she be here?

"As much as I hate to admit this, you're right, this is for Harry. Pansy, thank you." Pansy smirked knowingly as she shouted over her shoulder towards the commons where they had just come from.

"NOTT, YOU OWE ME TWENTY GALLEONS." Laughter echoed to the girls dormitories and Hermione could imagine him smacking a hand to his face in frustration.

"HOW DO YOU WANKERS DO THIS. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE." Hermione furrowed her brow, was there a wager she hadn't known about? And if so, how did they know she was going to be here?

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing you need to know."

* * *

><p>Pansy threw open the doors to a walk in closet and Hermione whistled, she thought everyone was supposed to have a trunk; apparently Slytherins didn't feel that was necessary.<p>

"I can see where this would be useful." Pansy giggled from inside the depths of the seemingly never ending closet.

"It's the community closet, so that in cases like YOU, no one has to be embarrassed to be seen with you."

"Well THANKS Pansy, I can see where you're helping me from the kindness of your heart."

The smaller girl responded by throwing a pile of clothes at the taller girl and she stumbled back at the sheer weight of them, who thought they would be so heavy?

Setting them out on the beds in the room, Hermione inspected all of the; most of the garments were dark shimmering materials that reminded her of the green fire that burned in the Slytherin common room.

"I'm not sure which of these will fit you, but you better try them on quickly, you best be leaving soon." Hermione nodded before taking the largest one and measuring against herself.

Remembering whose presence she was in, she started blushing; she'd rather not have to change in front of….whatever Pansy was, she wasn't sure she could be called a friend.

"Uh-uhm, I-I'm not…well…" Pansy smirked at her obvious discomfort, she WAS a Slytherin after all.

"I'll turn around." Hermione nodded thankfully before nodding a quick thanks and quickly stripping off her layers. Slipping the long dress over her head, she found that it was a bit too loose. Shucking it off, she picked up a shorter lacy thing.

Pulling it over her head, she frowned, it was a perfect fit, but she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with the amount of skin it showed off.

"Can I turn around now?"

"I suppose if you really want to." Pursing her lips and crossing her arms, Hermione waited to hear some sign of disapproval, but was disappointed when the shorter girl nodded and started humming slightly.

"Not bad, not bad at all."

"What? Oh come on, too short don't you think?" Pansy shook her head before bustling about the room in search of various jewelry that could match this beautiful dress.

Looking closer that the dress, Hermione did have to admit it was rather pretty; it was completely made of black lace over a dusty rose color with a large black ribbon under the bust that tied in a large bow in the back. Ending just above her knees, Hermione tried in vain to tug it down, just a little bit farther.

Pansy clucked at her as she tossed black ballet flats towards her feet that Hermione stepped into gingerly, wincing as the dark haired girl shoved earrings into her tender ears. A necklace was clasped around her throat and easily slid down to fall into place between her two collar bones.

The smaller witch grabbed various utensils Hermione could swear were used in medieval torture and came towards the wide eyed girl that backed up into a wall.

"Nononononono, let's not do this Pansy."

"It's not going to hurt silly, no sit down in the chair before I have to tie you to it." Hermione huffed before plopping into the chair beside one of the many plush and comfortable beds in the room.

"Well, at least Brown cut down half my work by getting you bushy hair into a somewhat behaved state."

"Excuse me!"

"It's true, you're hair is impossible; but that's alright, genetics can't be nice to all of us." Hermione humphed in agreement, it's not that she hadn't TRIED to make her hair behave, it just never worked. That and it was more beneficial to worry about studies rather than primping her hair for some douche to notice her.

Well, Draco and Ron noticed her, but that wasn't exactly the attention she was hoping for. "Bookworm" and "Obligatory-Homework-Helper" were not exactly what she wanted to be called by potential suitors. Not that that's what they were, there was no way either of them could possibly think of her in that way.

Because she certainly didn't, no way no how. Mm-mm. Nope.

Snapping back to reality, Hermione noticed all her hair had been gracefully piled on top of her head with a combination of braids and fake glittering black flowers.

"Not much, but it'll do." Pansy declared, rubbing her hands on her skirt, she started to walk back to the commons.

"Hurry up." Hermione stood up, smoothing out her dress and following after Pansy.

"Draco, you ready? Let's go." Draco nodded without really looking at her, grabbing Blaze by the arm and dragging him out of the commons.

* * *

><p>"Uhm, Draco, buddy. I hate to say this, but how the hell are we supposed to get out of school? You can't disapperate and quite frankly, I'm not sure I want to go through any sort of weird shortcuts you might have found through the Forbidden Forest."<p>

"Who the hell would besides those crazy ass Gryffindorks?" Draco smirked, then realizing who else was with him.

"No offense." Hermione could feel herself blushing at his consideration.

"None taken…" He really could be nice when he wanted to. Blaze was right though, surely Draco had some sort of plan, it wasn't the Slytherin thing to do to go rushing into situations without thought.

"Good thing for us, I know quite a bit about the layout of this school, which means that I know a very…convenient way to our destination." Smirking, the seemingly all-knowing blond headed away from the large archway and towards the kitchens.

"Draco, I don't think now is the time for a snack…" Hermione questioned, she thought they were on a serious mission to help Harry.

"Relax, would you? I know what I'm doing without you questioning me." Draco continued walking with Blaze trailing behind him, Hermione was struggling to keep up in the impractical shoes.

She was surprised however, when the Slytherin male stopped in front of a pile of vinegar barrels, why were these here, and what did Draco need them for?

"Mate, why the hell do we have to in THERE of all places?" Blaze whined, he really didn't see where this was going.

"I must agree with Blaze, I'm sure how this unseemly amount of vinegar is going to help us in the slightest." Draco just smiled charmingly at the clueless Gryffindor, he really would have thought she would have already known this.

Knocking on the barrel farthest to the right, Draco whispered something so low and quiet Hermione didn't catch what he was saying. She was however, paying much closer attention when the lid of the barrel swung open and the blond winked before grabbing onto the lid of the barrel and sliding into it like a water slide at a muggle park. Furrowing her brow in confusion, Hermione looked to the Italian male still at her side for explanation. He merely shrugged before getting in position to mimic his friend.

"Guess we better follow him." Against her better judgment, Hermione waited until she was sure Blaze was safely far enough away before grasping the splintering wood of the barrel.

Closing her eyes, Hermione gave a firm shove and she was soon sliding down a time worn wooden shaft towards the sound of shocked voices and a world of surprises.

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><p><strong>AN: HAPPY NEW YEARS GUYS! I figured I'd update because I don't do that often and it's the new year and why the hell not! I hope you all had a good holiday, and that you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the late update, I got distracted by Hetalia, and then AGAIN by Homestuck, and if any of you have read or seen either of those you should understand. XD I hope this chapter was good, and YES there IS a reason Hermione is all dressed up and YES Blaze is there because I said he would be, and YES all of them were RIDICULOUSLY OOC, AND YES I'M SORRY! Please forgive me! X3 this was still a lot of fun to write, and I hope you still enjoy reading. **

**A HUGE! SHOUT OUT TO THOSE REVIEWING! I APPRECIATE IT! I just LOVE hearing your thoughts as you read this, makes me write no matter how slow it is on getting out. XD although, the more you review, the faster I write. SO, you wanna know who made me want to update? Marauder Neyo, that's who! SO I THANK YOU! Because I love to write, but I really am lazy, thanks for all the reviews! **

**ALRIGHT, JTN OUT! XD**


	16. The First Steps

**A/N: ( ._.) Well I must admit that this is slightly embarrassing…Seeing as that it has been almost seven months now. I have been re-reading this story to trying and figure out why exactly there are 102 people following this story and 70 favorites. I have yet to come up with a reason. So I must thank you for being patient if any of you indeed have been waiting. Anyway, I will see if I can remember where I left off on this blasted story and hopefully this chapter will be pleasing.**

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><p>Hermione couldn't help but blush at the stares that were aimed in her direction while she and the two Slytherins stood directly in the middle of the Hufflepuff common room. At least fifteen wands were immediately pointed in their direction and a few hisses as well. Certainly not what she expected from the usually quiet members of the Hufflepuff house; she really shouldn't have expected anything different from badgers though.<p>

A rather tall redhead emerged from the mass of hostile glares and shook hands with Blaise and nodded at Draco.

"I honestly didn't expect you three to arrive so soon, but alas, I suspect that you are in a hurry to retrieve your missing friend. Right, well if you'll follow me this way then I can assure you I'll have you on your way by the hours end." Hermione raised an eyebrow at Draco, she was sure she'd never seen this student before, which was odd as she made sure to keep a tab on all of the students.

Following the mysterious student through the unfamiliar territory Hermione looked warily at the Hufflepuffs who had backed off considerably, interesting. Draco was whispering something to Blaise and Hermione was busy trying to memorize the layout of the dormitory for future reference while the Hufflepuff led the group to the farthest back room.

When they came to a sudden stop the three bumped into their guide who glared at the trio over his shoulder.

"Sorry..uhm. It seems that I do not know your name."

"That's quite alright Miss Granger, it is not necessary else you would know it." Draco snorted and Blaise elbowed him in the ribs, he wasn't quite sure why they were there but he assumed it was to help them so it would be in their best interest to be nice.

Pulling open the door Draco rolled his eyes at the great yellow portal that was overflowing with foul smelling fog.

"Hey Steve."

"Draco! Didn't think I'd be seeing you this soon, you seemed so skeptical."

"Well I'd rather take my chances then have none."

"Wisely put." Hermione raised an eyebrow at Blaise, even she had to admit she was slightly out of her element, but the Slytherin just shook his head.

"Well if you don't mind stepping through I'll be directing you to your next stop."

"Alright tha-"

"Now hold on a second!" Hermione interrupted while Draco was already half way through the portal. "We don't even know where this thing leads to, who these people are or what our plan is and we're just going to wing it?" The two Slytherins nodded their heads while shooting Hermione odd looks like she was the one being impractical.

"Another thing, Draco, how did you even know how to get in here?"

"Well one of my old girlfriends was a Hufflepuff and I had to see her somewhere and the Slytherin common room just isn't as accepting as Hufflepuff." Blaise shot him a look of surprise.

"I didn't know you dated a Hufflepuff."

"Mans gotta have some secrets."

"True that."

"AHEM."

"Right, Granger. Alright, here's the deal. I need to speak to my father, and I reckon this guys got a magic portal and he says he wants to help us out, so why not give it a go? Help is help after all not to mention less work for me."

"Merlins beard, you're such a Slytherin!"

"Well I'm sure as hell no Gryffindor and look how swell I'm doing so far." Hermione huffed but nodded and decided that it would be best to agree. For now. Draco smirked and went through the portal, a popping noise echoing when he was through. Blaise was next and Hermione looked at the stranger who hands she was practically putting her life into.

"I hope you have a pleasant trip Miss." He bowed as Hermione nodded and stepped through the portal, a slight fear crept into her mind at the thought of not even knowing their destination, but at least she should be heading to the same place as Draco. Not that it was much of a comfort.

Come to think of it she had never heard of a portal like this one. She'd read many books about portals and of course there were port keys but those were a whole other topic. The gas coming from the portal wasn't wet and it didn't carry an odor, it was like it wasn't there at all.

She had barely noticed she was through the portal but was soon pulled back into reality with a hand on her shoulder.

"Granger. I suggest you keep your mouth shut and go along with whatever we say, this isn't territory you're familiar with and you most certainly won't be welcome." Hermione didn't like the sound of this. She needed time to prepare for this sort of thing but Harry's life was on the line and that wasn't something she was willing to risk; although it was possible that hers might be as well. Nodding, she rolled her shoulders back and walked behind the two Slytherins.

Lush green grass bent under her shoes and the dark atmosphere seemed to choke the air around them and tall pointed roofs seemed to pierce the sky, making it bleed fat clear drops of rain onto the windows from billowing purple clouds. Hermione shivered at the sight of the cold stone building that very accurately mirrored that of its owners.

Dracos eyes hardened the closer they got to the grim building, his shoulders squaring and his stride becoming longer, more difficult for Hermione to keep up with. Hermione wiped at her face as they stepped under that clouds, rain started pelting them in a way Hermione suspected was to serve as a warning with the way they stung against her cheek like stones.

Draco pointed his wand at one of the smaller iron gates that stood guard against intruders, the gate instantly swinging open. Stepping through the hedges that lined the property of the manor, Draco couldn't help but shiver. As long as he had lived there he would never get used to the amount of darkness that hung there. Sometimes it was the strongest feeling, and yet, knowing how his life was doomed to end in that same darkness it felt cold.

No time for that thought though, turning to Hermione he swept an arm out as if to welcome her.

"I present to you, Malfoy Manor."

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><p>Draco led the group through many twists and turns, through dark corridors with plush carpets and tapestries that covered the entire wall. Huge marble pillars welcomed them into every new room and Hermione shuddered at the paintings that hung on the wall, no doubt showing the true Malfoy values.<p>

"Hm, it's been a while. Say, is that a new addition to the collection?" Blaise pondered while pointing to a rather snarky painting of Draco.

"Father must have a had it painted while I was away…."

"My my, is that a blush a see?"

"Be quiet Blaise, you're not doing anyone a favor by opening your trap." Rounding a corner, Draco closed his mouth and took a deep breath, this was the room father should be in after all. Blaise narrowed his eyes and Hermione summoned all the Gryffindor courage she could muster, this wasn't exactly the situation she would have preferred, but it was for Harry. He would have done it for her.

A ridiculously cavernous room welcomed the trio to the back of a green leather chair, on which a long delicate hand rested on the arm impatiently tapping it's fingers.

"Draco, what a surprise this is; seeing as that you _should_ be in school at this very moment."

"Father." An almost white blond head very similar to Dracos rose from the chair, turning to face the trio with a look so withering a basilisk would have been frightened.

"And who else do we have here? Blaise, I would have expected better from you." Lucius Mafloys gaze shifted over to Hermione, his snake like movements making her skin crawl as she fought to turn her head. "You."

Hermione had never felt more insulted and Lucius hadn't even said her name.

"Father, there is something that I must discuss with you."

"Something that couldn't have been sent through an owl so as to keep this, this _filth_out of our house?" The wizard pulled his wand out of his robes and aimed it towards Hermiones chest. "I do not believe in causing myself trouble and especially not over a child but I refuse to have the likes of you under my roof."

"Draco."

"There is something I need to ask of you." Draco repeated, keeping his gaze to the floor. Hermione couldn't decide how she felt; never hard she seen the great Slytherin Prince so afraid and yet, it was almost as if he deserved it for the horrid attitude he showed to the rest of the school.

Lucius narrowed his eyes even further if it was possible.

"If you _must."_

"What do you know about the whereabouts of Harry Potter." Lucius' eyes widened just the slightest bit as he took into consideration the reasons for why his son a proud Slytherin and heir to the Malfoy name would one, be in league not only with a mudblood but searching for the very boy that threatened everything the Malfoy name stood for.

"_Draco."_

"Father."

"I hope you realize the severity of such a question."

"I hope you realize the lengths I went to, and what lengths I _will_ go to." Lucius tilted his head the slightest bit.

"Draco, the day has come where you must choose a side, I hope you have picked the right one." Pulling a scroll from his sleeve, and handing it to his son; a look of disdain smeared across his face.

"Father." Nodding his head, Draco turned away from the man he called 'Father'. Blaise nodded his head and Hermione shuddered, following after Draco hoping this wasn't some sort of awful trick. Walking away with her life and not a single scratch was more than she had hoped for, let alone what they had come for.

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><p>The blur after that was difficult for Hermione to remember, somehow Draco had gotten them into a back alleyway, and it was safer than staying at any of their three houses and going back to Hogwarts wasn't really an option at that point.<p>

Draco unrolled the parchment and scanned it before taking a deep breath, Hermione didn't feel comfortable with that.

"Mafloy, hand it over." Taking the scroll from his hands Hermione read it at least three times to makes sure she got all of what it said. Running her hands through her hair Hermione tried to think of a way that this could possibly go into their favor. There wasn't, they were doomed the moment they left Hogwarts. Blaise gently slid the scroll out from her fingers and read it for himself.

"I think I would be putting it lightly if I said we were screwed."

"You THINK?!"

"Now be calm Draco, I'm sure that there is SOME way we can work this into our favor."

"Blaise you are a fucking moron."

"Well sorry for being optimistic."

"An optimistic Slytherin, fancy that."

"Oi, Granger, you could use a bit of optimism yourself."

"Not quite sure how that would help right now."

"I swear you and Draco are a match made in heaven with your pessimistic personalities."

"It's not pessimistic, it's_ realistic_." Hermione blushed a bit, her and Draco having similar views.

"Well, 'realistic Granger', got any idea on how we can retrieve our stranded Gryffindor?" Hermione sighed, did it really always have to be her to get everyone out of their messes? Honestly, she had to get Harry through the Triwizard Tournament and look how that ended up.

"Well honestly by what this scroll says, Harry has been transported to another dimension created none other than the Dark Lord himself, a realm created just for the sake of screwing around with Harrys mind to the point where he won't even remember who he is. Not only that but there are only three existing port keys that can get you there and two of them have already been taken."

"Right, so. That leaves one, in the _entire world_, and not only do we have to find it but we have to find it before Harry loses his mind, or _dies _for that matter, as well as give him a declaration of love _as well as _not kill each other in the process. Just _peachy._"

"Well Malfoy, now that we have that all cleared up why don't we use this nifty little spell that the bottom."

"Because Blaise, we don't know what it does."

"Right."

"Oh come on you two, you can step through a portal that you don't know where it leads, presented to you by a strange student that doesn't have records and we have never seen before, but you can't do a silly little spell?"

"You of all people Granger should know enough about spells to not say something like that."

"I don't really see what we have to lose at this point." Hermione raised an eyebrow at the Slytherins, no, her new allies, and dared them to say differently. Draco huffed and nodded in agreement.

Reciting the spell and what she hoped was the right motions, Hermione was shocked at the blue sphere that appeared between the three teenagers, thin tendrils snaking out and wrapping themselves around the three and dragging them into the sphere. With a flash of white light, they disappeared from the alley, only the newly shining stars to witness that they were even there at all.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, this wasn't a very long chapter but it's all I was able to write that didn't go into another segment. OTL I've been wanting to write this for months but didn't have the time or motivation. Seeing as that it's summer though, I should be able to update! :D Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry for my inability to write Lucius ene Reviews would be very much appreciated. **


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